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Title: Soros helps pro-Clinton Super PACs to $20 million haul
Source:
http://www.politico.com/story/2015/07/soros-helps-pro-clinto
URL Source: http://www.politico.com/story/2015/ ... to-20-million-haul-119669.html
Published: Jul 2, 2015
Author: By Kenneth P. Vogel
Post Date: 2015-07-02 12:02:28 by HAPPY2BME-4UM
Keywords: GEORGE SOROS, HILLARY CLINTON, 2016
Views: 16
A trio of pro-Hillary Clinton groups raised more than $20 million in the first half of the year, including at least $1 million from billionaire financier George Soros, POLITICO has learned. American Bridge 21st Century, an opposition research super PAC founded by Clinton enforcer David Brock, will disclose raising $7.7 million — including $1 million from Soros — to the Federal Election Commission before a July 15 deadline, an official with the group said Wednesday. A linked nonprofit group called American Bridge 21st Century Foundation — which is not required to disclose its donors — raised an additional $1 million, the official said. Story Continued Below Meanwhile, Priorities USA Action, an allied super PAC dedicated to airing ads supporting Clinton and attacking her opponents, is expected to report raising $12 million or more in the first half of the year, multiple sources in Democratic finance circles told POLITICO. The super PAC numbers are an encouraging development for Clinton, whose campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination announced Wednesday that it had raised $45 million during her first three months in the race. Clinton is a fundraiser par excellence, and her ability to raise money for her own campaign was never in doubt. The fundraising ability of the pro-Clinton super PACs, however, was less clear. Clinton’s allies early this year had privately fretted that supportive super PACs were struggling to raise money amid internecine squabbling and reluctance from some of the Democratic Party’s wealthiest backers. It’s still not clear how Democratic super PACs will stack up against conservative big-money operations like the one spearheaded by the billionaire industrialists Charles and David Koch. Their network intends to raise $889 million to shape politics and policy in the runup to the 2016 election. But the $7.7-million super PAC haul for American Bridge — which has played a key role in defending Clinton against GOP attacks — marks its largest six-month fundraising haul since the group was formed in 2011. The cash came from 55 donors, for an average contribution of $140,000, and it came at an important time in the preliminary stages of the big-money cash race. The super PACs supporting Clinton’s prospective GOP rivals like former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and Sens. Marco Rubio of Florida and Ted Cruz of Texas are raking in huge checks or commitments from their side’s billionaires. New York hedge fund manager Bob Mercer is the leading backer behind a network of pro-Cruz super PACs that boasted of raising $31 million while Miami businessman Norman Braman is considering donating as much as $25 million to a super PAC backing Rubio. Soros’ $1 million donation to American Bridge will help the group fund its operations as GOP attacks on Clinton are escalating, but it’s also significant as a signal. The Hungarian-born investor is one of the few Democratic donors who has shown a willingness to drop eight-figure contributions in an election cycle, having donated more than $20 million in 2004 to groups that tried to oust then-President George W. Bush. After the failure of that effort, Soros dialed back his big-money political spending, but he is still closely watched by other rich Democrats as a bellwether donor. A spokesman for Soros on Wednesday night did not respond to questions about whether he had given to Priorities USA or how much he planned to give overall in 2016. Megadonor cultivation is shaping up an essential aspect of the 2016 presidential campaign because super PACs have begun assuming some of the roles traditionally played by campaigns. Unlike campaigns — which are limited to maximum donations of $5,400 this election cycle — super PACs can accept checks of unlimited amounts, thanks to the Supreme Court’s 2010 Citizens United ruling and a subsequent lower court decision that struck down key political spending restrictions. While super PACs are still barred from coordinating their spending strategies with the campaigns they’re trying to help, operatives in recent years have pioneered techniques for ensuring complementary efforts. American Bridge 21st Century, for instance, in 2013 launched a project called Correct the Record, that has been filling many of the functions of a traditional campaign rapid-response operation, providing real-time pushback against GOP attacks on its website and via email for use by Clinton’s defenders. The group became a stand-alone super PAC in May, splitting off from American Bridge, and hinting at plans to work even more closely with Clinton’s campaign. Soros helps pro-Clinton Super PACs to $20 million haul
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