Sheldon Adelson opens wallet to help congressional Republicans
The Adelson money spigot has opened.
Las Vegas billionaires Sheldon and Miriam Adelson donated $20 million last month to help Republicans retain their Senate majority, according a person familiar with the contribution.
The donation to the Senate Leadership Fund provides a big cash infusion as the group scrambles to help Republican candidates from New Hampshire to Florida. The group is closely aligned with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and veteran Republican strategist Karl Rove.
CNN first reported Adelson’s giving, and the network said Adelson will give a similar amount to the Congressional Leadership Fund, a super PAC focused on House races that is closely aligned with House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis.
The casino magnate also plans to give $5 million to organizations connected to TD Ameritrade founder J. Joe Ricketts, the network said. That money will be used to aid Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, CNN reported. That would be a striking reversal for Ricketts, whose family spent heavily to oppose Trump during the primaries.
Adelson’s donation to the Senate Leadership Fund is expected to be disclosed in filings the super PAC will make Tuesday with the Federal Election Commission. The contributions vaunt him to the top of mega-donors active in the 2016 election.
The couple contributed more than $90 million in the 2012 election, but they have been less active in this cycle, despite Adelson’s high-profile endorsement of Trump earlier this year.
A recent Paste BN analysis highlighted the trend of deep-pocketed Republican donors increasingly sending their money to protect downballot races.
The $20 million donation from the Adelsons dramatically boosts Senate Leadership’s bank account, nearly doubling the $22.8 million the group had raised between Jan. 1, 2015 and July 31 of this year.
It's spending heavily in the homestretch to Election Day. On Tuesday, for instance, the group announced the first ad in its $10.8 million fall advertising campaign in Florida to aid Sen. Marco Rubio’s re-election.