Presidential rivals battle to win billionaire backing

WASHINGTON – Not many people can prompt New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie to apologize for his word choices or get former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush to distance himself from a family loyalist.

But Sheldon Adelson, the billionaire casino magnate, has done both.

The octogenarian’s power is in his money – and in his demonstrated willingness to spend it freely to make or break political campaigns. He is among a growing, but still elite, group of very big-dollar donors who can donate enough to keep an entire presidential campaign viable, even in the face of voter rejection.

Competition for the high rollers is so fierce among this year’s unusually large Republican field that it has created a race within the race: the wealthy donors primary, a model that has eclipsed the traditional presidential campaign structure. Now, presidential hopefuls vie for the backing of millionaires and billionaires long before a primary vote is cast – and that money and support will empower them to stay in the race further into primary season, perhaps right up to the national convention.

It may as well be called the Adelson Primary – not to be confused with the Koch Brothers Primary, the Norman Braman Caucus or the Larry Ellison Event. The industrialist brothers, the South Florida car dealer and the tech entrepreneur, respectively, have all but guaranteed big payoffs to one or more candidates.

“The race for the billionaires – it’s changed everything,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who announced his own presidential bid earlier this month in a still-growing field.

In previous presidential campaigns, before the age of the mega-donor, “money tended to track results,” said Tom Rath, a longtime Republican strategist in the early primary state of New Hampshire. A victory or a strong showing in an early primary or caucus would indicate legitimacy, drawing donors and media attention, he said.

Then, in 2012, Adelson spent $15 million through a “super PAC” to keep former House Speaker Newt Gingrich in the race for the Republican nomination for president long after other backers and voters had moved on. Such political patronage was novel then, as the implications of rapidly weakened enforcement of campaign finance rules were still being explored.

Now, big-money backers are almost required for political survival. This year, nearly every candidate in the Republican field – which could exceed 20 people – is seeking a patron. And they have shown little shame in groveling.

“Send some my way!” said Graham, only partly in jest. For his own long-shot bid, Graham drew the backing of billionaire investor Ronald Perelman.

Candidates have been regularly parading in front of Adelson, often at forums for small groups of like-minded donors at one of his Vegas resorts.

Christie apologized to Adelson after referring during one of those meetings to the “occupied territories” – a commonly used term for the West Bank and East Jerusalem, but one that conservative supporters of Israel like Adelson abhor.

Likewise, former Bush moved to distance himself from a longtime family friend, former Secretary of State James Baker, who had criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Adelson has yet to pick a candidate this year. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, won positive reviews from attendees at one of the events, according to those familiar with the gathering, though others say Adelson has been eyeing Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida.

That would be a coup for Rubio, who already has the backing of Braman, a longtime supporter who has indicated he is likely to spend millions.

Backers of Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., who has yet to sign up a mega-donor, are hopeful his recent filibusterlike attempt to shut down government surveillance operations will land him a billionaire.

He shouldn’t have much trouble.

“The one thing I can tell you is, there are more billionaires than you think,” Graham said. Still, he believes no candidate can win the nomination without shaking the hands of voters and attending house parties in the early primary states.

Foster Friess, a conservative businessman, spent more than $2 million to help keep former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum’s threadbare campaign afloat in 2012 and has said he will contribute again, but at a lower profile.

For Democrats, big donors include California environmental activist Tom Steyer, who spent $69.2 million on the 2014 midterm election and is spending money in early primary states ahead of 2016. But the dominance of Hillary Rodham Clinton in the polls means Steyer and other liberals are less likely to influence the primary contest.

Big Republican donors, in contrast, can use their power to bring relevance to candidates or push them into the top tier, giving the donors unrivaled clout.

“You have a sense of, shall we say, a certain amount of debt, obligation, to one or two or three people who are your reason why you existed,” said Sen. John McCain of Arizona, the 2008 Republican presidential nominee who also co-wrote the campaign finance rules that have since been gutted by court decisions.

McCain, like many Republicans, blames President Barack Obama’s rejection of public matching money in 2008 – when he heavily outspent McCain on his way to defeating him – for unleashing much of the flood of money. But it was court decisions and the 2012 election that showed the potential for big donors to spend unlimited dollars and blunt early primary results.

Witness Iowa, where Republicans long risked near banishment from the state if they failed to support a federal requirement to use corn-based ethanol and other renewable fuels in gasoline – a boost to the state’s farm economy.

No more. Charles and David Koch, the energy billionaires who have become the leading donors in Republican politics, oppose the requirement, calling it unwarranted government intrusion into the free market.

Bush said in March that he wants to phase it out. Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker has hedged his position, saying he might do the same. Cruz has sponsored a bill that would eliminate it.

Those three candidates, along with Rubio and Paul, were named by Charles Koch on a short list of candidates he might support, though that is unlikely to discourage others from courting the Kochs.