Sunday, October 24, 2010

Mitt Romney is already the favorite as mega-donors look toward 2012

Politico had an interesting article on the GOP's big money donors. It seems that Many of the Republican Party's Largest donors are already choosing a favorite for 2012. Mitt Romney has already attracted into his corner:
  • David and Julia Koch (billionaire)
  • Louis Eisenberg (financier)
  • Woody Johnson (NY Jets Owner)
  • Wayne Berman (Ogilvy Government Relations Chairman)
  • Donald and Muffy Miller (Ny Businessman Wife President of Venetian Heritage)
  • John Paulson (hedge fund titan)
  • Stephen Ross (Related Companies Chairman)
  • Anthony Scaramucci (Skybridge Capital Founder)
  • David and Ginny Knott (hedge funders)
  • Patrick Durkin (Credit Suisse First Boston)
  • Richard Breeden (former Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman)
Romney is already raising copiously for his political action committee and has the help of his longtime campaign finance adviser, Spencer Zwick, who’s currently assisting Meg Whitman’s gubernatorial campaign in California — a role that also provides the former Massachusetts governor with a toehold in a major state.

Former Ambassador John Rood a Romney supporter living in Florida said, Romney has built on momentum from his findraising base in 2008.

“Others have been through Florida, but I haven’t seen anywhere near the same outreach through their PAC’s or their teams, so to speak,” he said. “I don’t see anybody at the level that Mitt Romney is.”

There are still some of the big donors who are holding out until after the 2010 mid-term elections or until they can assess what impact the Tea Party might have on the 2012 election.

Some in the big-donor class claim to welcome the tea party’s energy, but many are nevertheless nervously eyeing Sarah Palin.

“Most long-standing donors are worried about a candidate, or multiple candidates, coming forward who are too extreme,” said a major Republican donor with long ties to the party. “You’ve got a lot of people that don’t want to support the tea party movement.”

Rick Wilson, a Republican strategist based in Florida, said much will depend on the tea party's durability as a political force. “Major donors may want to ride the conservative wave if it means being with the [primary] winner ... though they've usually gone for more moderate Republicans,” he said.

One of those big donors who is remaining uncommitted is Paul Singer of Elliott Management Who sources close to him say that he is waiting until after the 2010 mid-term elections are over before deciding who he is with. Singer has already given $5.5 Million to the RGA this cycle.

Making things more complicated also are a few other names being tossed around for 2012 that have ties to the big donors.

Governor Haley Barbour through is affiliation with the RGA has already brought their fundraising efforts to a new high. Then there is Governor Mitch Daniels who has ties to the Bush supporters. South Dakota Senator John Thune has begun courting some money men and Governor Tim Pawlenty has attracted money man and Chicago banker William Strong as a backer.

Newt Gingrich, is raising early, but in a different way, snaring $3.8 million through his nonprofit, registered under the 527 tax code, that can accept unlimited contributions.

As for Sarah Palin, Palin is an unknown factor in all this. Many Republicans don’t believe Palin will ultimately run, given that she’s making so much money speaking, through her books and in private life. She appears to have done the least to court big donors...At this point, Palin seems to be concentrating on small donations for her PAC.

While it's true that no one can run a successful national campaign solely on these mega-donors, it certainly helps create a strong base to build upon. And besides, these individuals seem to have an eye for picking winners.

Now before all the anti-Romney folks start posting comments like, "Romney only attracts big business donors and not the little guy", well that's not true. Mitt Romney attracts both and KNOWS from experience that you need both to wage a SUCCESSFUL campaign. If you doubt this strategy, Just look at Mike Huckabee in 2008.

To Read the complete article from Politico, go HERE.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Mitt is covering all the bases.


MITT 12

Anonymous said...

You're correct Bosman. You need both the Big and little donors to run and win an election. Huckabee knows this better than anyone.

john

Bill589 said...

Big donors are part of the establishment. Small donors are not. For the year I’ve been involved in politics, I’ve often read that Mitt will probably be the ‘establishment’ candidate for 2012. This news doesn’t surprise me. Myself being part of the TPM, I think this can work against him with many of us.

Right Wingnut said...

That's great for Mitt that the hedge fund managers are lining up in hopes of having a seat at the table, but the average voter does not view a story like this in a positive light. The same can be said about Politico's reporting of his connections with K street the other day.

Anonymous said...

Bill & RWN,

What do Tea Party folks think of Palin getting paid to campaign and raise money for candidates? I'll bet that's why she's traveling everywhere with Steele now.

http://rightosphere.com/blog.php?user=BOSMAN&blogentry_id=9817

zeke

Anonymous said...

zeke,

I just read Bosman's post there. That is unbelievable. Getting paid by the GOP to do for candidates what Romney does for free.

Oh, wait a minute, Palin is only worth 15-20 million, she needs the money. She's not as rich as Romney.

MITT 12

Right Wingnut said...

The RNC and the McCain campaign promised to help pay for some of the legal expenses she incurred as a result of the campaign. After dragging their feet for 2 years, they finally kept their promise.

Anonymous said...

Tea Party Shaping 2012 Race

Revolution 2012 said...

RWN,

Sure!

BOSMAN said...

RWN,

Why do you assume the negative, "That's great for Mitt that the hedge fund managers are lining up in hopes of having a seat at the table"?

Can't people with money be just as patriotic as the next person?

Can't they be grateful for the opportunities they've been given that have enabled them to be successful?

Can't they just want America to have the best leader possible for these bad times that we're in?

Why make it us against them, when we're all in this together and want what's best for America.

Right Wingnut said...

Bos,

There's nothing wrong with making as much money as humanly possible. I am, however, leary of the influence of the K street crowd on our elected officials. I'm certainly not alone in that sentiment. When regular folks see a report like this, it breeds more cynicism. I suspect Mitt would prefer that Politico not report it, unless he's trying to convey an aire of inevitablity. Having said that, I'm totally against ANY more restrictions on campaign finance than we already have. I'd be in favor of a full repeal of McCain-Feingold.