Spokane7
50°
February 21, 2012 in Nation/World
Mega donors boost GOP super PACs
Multimillionaires give repeatedly
WASHINGTON – A pair of “super” political action committees supporting top Republican presidential candidates spent nearly $24 million in January, drawing upon major gifts and repeat donations from wealthy business executives, according to financial reports the groups filed Monday with the government.
The super PACs – Mitt Romney-leaning Restore Our Future and Newt Gingrich-supportive Winning Our Future – raised a combined $17 million last month. That financial strength allowed the groups to hit the airwaves in key primary states with millions of dollars in expensive TV ads.
The groups’ fundraising offers a periodic behind-the-scenes glimpse into the identities of the wealthy supporters who will help elect the next president, along with details on how the tens of millions of dollars they donated have been spent this election season. Restore Our Future, which spent $14 million last month, has been boosted by more than two dozen repeat donors. Winning Our Future, which spent $9.7 million, is largely supported by casino mogul Sheldon Adelson and his wife.
The super PACs, as well as other groups supporting other candidates and the individual campaigns, were required to disclose how much they raised and the identities of their donors in reports filed with the Federal Election Commission by midnight Monday.
Those reports provided a snapshot of fundraising for President Barack Obama’s early campaign and for Republican candidates as they battled during important primary elections in January. During the month, GOP candidates Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum had briefly surged ahead of front-runner Mitt Romney but trailed the former Massachusetts governor in fundraising. Since then, Santorum has climbed remarkably in polls as support eroded just as stunningly for Gingrich following his disappointing showing in Florida.
Restore Our Future has been a boon for Romney, who has benefited greatly from the group’s TV ads attacking Gingrich in particular. Such ads were purchased thanks to the financial help of repeat donors, including Marriott International Chairman J.W. Marriott Jr., who has given the super PAC $750,000 to date.
The super PAC also reported new donors, including Hewlett-Packard CEO Meg Whitman. Romney mentored Whitman, recently an unsuccessful candidate for California governor, during the 1980s at Boston-based Bain & Co., the private equity firm Romney headed. Whitman’s $100,000 check to Restore Our Future came days after she joined Romney at a celebration of his victory in the New Hampshire primary.
Restore Our Future counted on continued support from at least 30 repeat donors who have given a combined $6.6 million in January, according to a review of the reports by The Associated Press.
Meanwhile, Winning Our Future’s $11 million in contributions during the same period came almost exclusively from Adelson, a friend of Gingrich’s and a staunch supporter of Israel. Adelson and his wife, Miriam, each gave $5 million to the super PAC in January – a move that helped keep Gingrich’s struggling campaign alive.
Other GOP-leaning super PACs reported major contributions.
Endorse Liberty, the group supporting Texas Rep. Ron Paul, reported roughly $2.4 million in donations, including $1.7 million from the billionaire founder of PayPal, Peter Thiel of San Francisco. Thiel, who runs a hedge fund, is a libertarian who has supported Republican causes and candidates and also has donated to California’s marijuana legalization ballot measure.
Romney raised $6.5 million last month for his presidential bid, while Gingrich’s presidential campaign raised $5.5 million last month.
© Copyright 2012 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Zoo hand-raising cubs after rare cheetah birth 
greyhound2 on February 21 at 6:10 a.m.
What a waste of money. Estimated that both partys will throw away about 2 billion dollars before the dog and pony show ends in November. All of this for a job which pays about $400,000 per year for only 4 years. Ban political ads from television, institute public financing for campaigns and institute term limits to get rid of career politicians and the “For Sale” sign off the capital. All that money could be put to good use for constructive purposes instead of wasted for nothing.
Scoutster on February 21 at 6:29 a.m.
The two major Senate candidates in MA have agreed to keep SuperPacs out of their race, at least as much as they can control.
slamdunk on February 21 at 1:46 p.m.
Look at that cull Vandersloot over in Idahole! I wish that Mitt backin thug would threaten me like he did a whole slew of journalists who disagreed with his billionaire positions. Not only does he have Jim Rich in his pocket, he also has the gutless cull Otter. He destroyed public education in Idaho and now wants to force his billionaire views on the rest of us…..go AWAY ALREADY VANDERSLOOT!!!!!!
greenlibertarian on February 21 at 7:00 p.m.
Vandersloot is an anti-gay bigot, a thug, and made his money with a Ponzi scheme.
If he doesn’t get right with God, he’ll be burning in hell for all eternity.