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lite.cnn.com - on gopher - inofficial
ARTICLE VIEW:
Elon Musk and other billionaires invest staggering sums into electing
Trump, plus other takeaways from third-quarter filings
By David Wright, Fredreka Schouten, Matt Holt and Alex Leeds Matthews,
CNN
Updated:
3:27 AM EDT, Wed October 16, 2024
Source: CNN
Some of the world’s wealthiest figures – led by conservative donor
and tech billionaire – have funneled tens of millions of dollars into
political groups in recent months to boost ’s White House bid, new
reports filed Tuesday with federal regulators show.
Musk, the world’s richest person, $75 million to a pro-Trump super
PAC that he helped form over the summer – a massive cash infusion
aimed at helping turn out voters in key battleground states. Adelson, a
staunch Trump backer and heir to a casino fortune, gave even more,
plowing $95 million into another outside group backing the former
president, according to filings with the Federal Election Commission
covering the three months ended September 30.
Altogether, just three billionaires – Musk, Adelson and Midwestern
packaging magnate Richard Uihlein – donated roughly $220 million in a
three-month period to groups backing the Republican’s candidacy.
Their staggering donations underscore the crucial role that a handful
of billionaire megadonors are playing in Trump’s efforts to edge past
his Democratic rival, Vice President , as their race has intensified.
Harris has set a blistering pace – since she became the Democratic
standard-bearer in late July – a milestone achieved faster than any
other presidential contender. And Tuesday’s filings show that a
high-dollar fundraising committee that channels money to her campaign
and aligned Democratic committees, took in $633 million during the
third quarter – four times the amount raised by Trump’s equivalent
fundraising arm in that time.
But Harris’ team has implored her supporters to send in even more –
highlighting both the billionaire backing for Trump’s candidacy and
her campaign’s scramble to reach the still-undecided voters in
battleground states that her aides hope will break for the vice
president in the final sprint to Election Day.
In the battle for control of Congress, meanwhile, individual Democratic
incumbents and candidates in some key Senate and House races widened
their financial advantage over their Republican opponents.
Deep-pocketed Republicans donors also tried to close the gap by
boosting a GOP super PAC working to seize the Senate majority.
Here are some key takeaways from the filings:
Billionaires back a Trump return to the White House
Musk has emerged as a significant force in Trump’s bid to return to
the White House. America PAC, the super PAC Musk funds, has unleashed a
massive door-knocking operation in states such as Pennsylvania on
Trump’s behalf – though the strategy of a presidential campaign is
largely untested.
According to filings through the weekend, America PAC had reported
spending nearly $96 million on the presidential race, including just
under $57 million on canvassing and field operations.
The new filing from America PAC, detailed seven separate contributions
from Musk that totaled close to $75 million between the start of July
and end of September – marking the first contributions that Musk has
made to the group. It received its initial funding from a network of
the billionaire’s former partners and business associates.
Musk was its sole donor during the third quarter, however.
America PAC has taken on a critical supporting role for the Trump
campaign, according to its , which cover some spending beyond September
30. In addition to the presidential contest, the group has also spent
millions targeting several highly competitive House races, including
contests in California and New York, viewed as key to Republicans
retaining their control of the chamber.
Tuesday’s filings show other conservative billionaires also plowing
extraordinary sums into the effort to reelect Trump.
Adelson’s $95 million went to another leading pro-Trump super PAC,
Preserve America, – accounting for virtually all of the money it
collected during the July-to-September quarter. Adelson and her late
husband, Sheldon, were among the largest givers to Republican
candidates and causes in the past decade, and Miriam Adelson has now
given the group a total of $100 million this year.
Preserve America has spent nearly all that it raised in the third
quarter and has dropped nearly $92 million on independent expenditures,
mostly in ads.
Advertising data shows that Preserve America still has about $29
million worth of ad time booked for the month of October through
Election Day, including to boost Trump in the swing states of Michigan
and Wisconsin.
Another leading pro-Trump super PAC, Restoration PAC, also reported a
huge haul from a single major donor. Uihlein gave about $49 million to
the group in the third quarter. In all, Uihlein has now given nearly
$59 million this year to Restoration PAC, which is currently spending
millions on the air in the battleground states of Pennsylvania,
Wisconsin and Georgia.
Other Trump supporters contributing big sums during the third quarter
included billionaire former Marvel executive Ike Perlmutter and his
wife, Laura, who donated nearly $5 million late last month to the
pro-Trump super PAC Right for America.
Harris has also benefited from a major outside effort funded by
big-money donors.
FF PAC, the lead super PAC backing the vice president’s campaign, has
bought a total of $371 million worth of ad time since the start of
2023, according to AdImpact data, including to support President Biden
before he ended his reelection bid in July. It is the largest single
outside advertiser in the presidential race.
FF PAC will disclose its September fundraising and spending activity on
Sunday. But through the end of August, according to its most recent
filings, the group had reported raising more than $200 million this
election cycle, including receiving $19 million from the billionaire
former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and $10 million from LinkedIn
co-founder Reid Hoffman.
More shifting roles
, a joint fundraising committee that collects high-dollar donations
that flow to the former president’s campaign and an array of GOP
committees, took in six-figure donations during the third quarter from
some boldfaced names, including Steve Mnuchin, who served as Trump’s
Treasury secretary, and longtime Trump friend Dana White, the CEO of
Ultimate Fighting Championship. White had a prominent speaking role at
the Republican National Convention over the summer.
The Trump 47 committee raised $145 million during the third quarter and
started October with nearly $53 million remaining in its accounts.
Tuesday’s filings show Trump 47 footing the bill in recent months for
some traditional campaign expenses, such as facility rentals. The
committee helped underwrite at least $15.8 million in travel and
event costs – helping free up resources in Trump’s principal
campaign account to spend on advertising in his battle against a
better-funded rival. In August alone, advertising expenses accounted
for more than $3 out of every $4 spent by Trump’s main campaign
committee.
On Wednesday night, the former president is slated to preside over a
fundraiser for Trump 47 at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. The
event’s top givers either contributed or raised the maximum of
$924,600 apiece, according to a copy of the invitation obtained by CNN.
Big donors also fuel fight for Congress
Leading super PACs targeting Senate races reported huge fundraising
totals in the third quarter, with Democrats’ narrow majority on the
line. .
Senate Majority PAC, a top Democratic super PAC aligned with Majority
Leader Chuck Schumer, raised over $119 million during the third quarter
– a record for the group, edging past the roughly $116 million raised
by its Republican counterpart, the Senate Leadership Fund.
Senate Majority PAC received $30 million from a Democratic dark money
organization, Majority Forward, along with seven-figure contributions
from some of the party’s top wealthy supporters, including Illinois
Gov. JB Pritzker ($2.5 million), former Google CEO Eric Schmidt ($2
million) and Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings (just under $2 million).
The Senate Leadership Fund’s receipts also showed some of the leading
donors to Republican candidates and causes opening their wallets. They
included Citadel CEO Ken Griffin ($20 million, bringing his annual
total to $27.5 million), Elliott Management co-CEO Paul Singer ($10
million, bringing his annual total to $20 million) and Blackstone Group
CEO Stephen Schwarzman ($9 million).
In addition, Miriam Adelson gave the fund $5 million in the third
quarter, bringing her annual contribution to the group up to $15
million.
Meanwhile, the Congressional Leadership Fund – the main super PAC
supporting House Republicans – hauled in more than $81 million in the
third quarter. Timothy Mellon, the reclusive GOP megadonor, donated $5
million to the group, and Adelson gave an additional $4 million. The
group entered October with nearly $153 million on hand.
Its Democratic counterpart, House Majority PAC, files on a monthly
basis and raised nearly $20 million in July and $11.5 million in August
and said it raised $69 million in September, .
Senate Democrats make their final stand
With Republicans almost certain to flip West Virginia’s Senate seat,
Democrats hoping to keep their majority in the chamber cannot afford to
lose another seat if Harris ends up winning the presidency. Their top
priority is defending two vulnerable red-state incumbents: Montana Sen.
and Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown. Donors have responded accordingly.
No Senate candidate, incumbent or challenger, raised more than Tester.
The Montana dirt farmer raised $32 million in the third quarter and
entered October with more than $7 million on hand. His Republican
challenger, retired Navy SEAL Tim Sheehy, raised about $10 million and
had $4 million banked.
Brown raised a staggering $31 million – a sizable increase from the
$13 million he raised in the second quarter – and ended the quarter
with more than $4 million in the bank. His GOP opponent, businessman
Bernie Moreno, raised $6.5 million and entered October with $3 million
on hand.
Democratic candidates in Michigan, Pennsylvania, Arizona and Maryland
– all states that feature on CNN’s list of the – outraised their
Republican opponents in the third quarter by significant margins.
In battleground Wisconsin, Republican banker , who is challenging
Democratic Sen. , loaned his campaign $7 million in the third quarter,
bringing his self-funding total to $20 million. Baldwin, for her part,
raised more than $13 million in the three-month period.
And – a rare potential pickup opportunity for Democrats – Rep.
Colin Allred, the Democratic nominee, swamped two-term GOP Sen. Ted
Cruz, $30 million to about $18 million, in third-quarter fundraising.
Cruz, however, entered October with a massive cash advantage.
House Democrats hold cash advantage in key races
In the battle for the House, where Republicans are defending a
razor-thin majority, Democratic candidates entered the final stretch of
the campaign in a better financial position.
In 32 districts that rate as a “toss-up” or tilting toward one
party, Democrats, on average, raised $2.6 million and had about $1.8
million in cash on hand entering October. The average Republican
candidate raised about $1.1 million and had $1.4 million left to spend
for the final weeks of the race. (The averages did not include a pair
of California candidates – Democrat Adam Gray in the 13th District
and GOP Rep. Michelle Steel in the 45th District – whose fundraising
reports were not available just after midnight Wednesday.)
A few candidates in the 32 races stood out for reporting quarterly
hauls not usually seen in House contests. In Virginia’s 7th District,
Democrat Eugene Vindman – the twin brother of a star witness at
Trump’s first impeachment trial – raised an eye-popping $6.5
million in the third quarter. The closest House candidate to match
Vindman was Alaska Rep. Mary Peltola, who raised about $4 million in
the same period.
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