Top Political Donors Have Already Given $66 Million for Midterms - Bloomberg

Top Political Donors Have Already Given $66 Million for Midterms

By and

February 22, 2018, 8:00 PM GMT+11

Top 10 GOP and Democratic contributors gave $65.7 million

Steyer is face of impeachment campaign, while Uihlein lays low

The 2018 midterms look good for Democrats

Billionaire Tom Steyer and packaging king Richard Uihlein are leading the charge among mega-donors seeking to influence the November elections, with the top 10 contributors logging a combined $65.7 million so far in the current campaign cycle.

With control of Congress at stake, the top Democratic and Republican donors will be pressed to finance a battle that’s already triggering television advertising and expected to set a spending record. The first midterm elections under President Donald Trump will be a high-priced test of whether the GOP can keep majorities in both the House and Senate. As many as a dozen Senate seats and 80 in the House could be in play.

"This will be a historically expensive midterm," said Sheila Krumholz, executive director of the Center for Responsive Politics, which tracks campaign finance. "We will see massive donations fueling massive spending."

Uihlein and Steyer -- the leading contributors for their respective parties -- are facing off with starkly different styles. Uihlein, a Republican, dodges almost all publicity, while Steyer, a Democrat, is becoming a household name because of his on-camera appeals to impeach the president.

Uihlein and his wife, Elizabeth, topped the list with donations of $18.5 million, according to a Bloomberg analysis of Federal Election Commission records that include reports filed by parties and super political action committees this week. Steyer has donated $15.9 million, the records show.

The Uihleins contributed to dozens of different candidates and committees, with their two biggest single contributions of $2 million each going to a super-PAC trying to sway the Republican primary for U.S. Senate in Wisconsin and another one involved in the Senate race in Missouri. Virtually all of Steyer’s contributions went to his NextGen Climate Action Committee.

Top 10 Individual Donors So Far in 2017-18 Election Cycle

Name Total Party that primarily benefits Home Occupation

Richard and Elizabeth Uihlein $18.5 million Republican Illinois Owner, Uline Corp.

Thomas Steyer $15.9 million Democrat California Advocacy, philanthropy

Donald Sussman $6.5 million Democrat Florida Fund manager

Fred Eychaner $4.6 million Democrat Illinois Media, philanthropy

George Marcus $4.2 million Democrat California Real estate

Robert and Diana Mercer $3.7 million Republican New York Hedge fund manager

Charles Koch (and trust) $3.5 million Republican Kansas Koch Industries

Steven Cohen $3.4 million Republican Connecticut Investment adviser

Deborah Simon $2.9 million Democrat Indiana Philanthropist

Bernard Marcus $2.7 million Republican Georgia Co-Founder, Home Depot

Source: Bloomberg analysis of Federal Election Commission data

*The compilation by Bloomberg doesn’t include some disclosures for U.S. Senate candidates that are filed on paper and are still working their way into the FEC’s system, but none are expected to dramatically alter the rankings of top donors because of legal limits for direct contributions to candidates are relatively small.

**Also not included in the analysis are entities that don’t have to report their contributions to the FEC. Those include organizations known as 501(c)(4)s, the Internal Revenue Service code for tax-exempt “social welfare” groups, that do work broadly benefiting the community, but can also spend money to influence elections.

Steyer’s Pledge

Steyer, a Californian, has promised to spend $30 million through his NextGen America organization to help Democrats win congressional seats in the 2018 midterms. He plans to initially focus on House races in 10 states: Arizona, California, Florida, Iowa, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Wisconsin.

Big donors like Steyer are asked to shoulder the bulk of the cost of competitive races. The ability of super-PACs to accept contributions of unlimited size means they’ll play a major campaign role. In 2016, outside groups that rely on donors writing seven-figure checks spent $50 million or more on eight close Senate races and outspent the candidates themselves in 19 close House races.

While Steyer has said he doesn’t plan to run for office himself this year, he has declined to rule out a potential presidential bid in 2020.

He helped create a group for political activism on climate change and other issues in 2013 after leaving Farallon Capital Management, the hedge fund he co-founded. In the 2016 campaign, when Steyer was the nation’s biggest individual political donor, the group focused on mobilizing young voters.

Steyer’s calls for impeachment have frustrated some congressional Democrats who fear they’re a distraction and make the party look too partisan, but he’s shown no signs of backing down.

"Tom Steyer and NextGen America are willing to do all that we can to elect progressives," said Aleigha Cavalier, communications director for NextGen America, in a statement.

Uihlein Backing

Uihlein, an Illinois resident who owns a Wisconsin shipping and packaging materials company called Uline, has helped finance the Republican primary for Illinois governor. After backing Governor Bruce Rauner during his 2014 campaign, he’s turned against him and is now backing his GOP primary challenger, Jeanne Ives, a state representative, who received $2 million from Uihlein in late January. Contributions to state candidates and committees weren’t included in the analysis.

Uihlein has repeatedly declined interview requests. One of his top recipients, the super-PAC associated with the conservative Club for Growth, issued a statement shared by his representative in Washington on his behalf.

"Club for Growth and its affiliate PACs have an overwhelming network of donors who generously contribute because they are concerned about the direction of our nation," said Rachael Slobodien, a spokeswoman. "Dick is dedicated to promoting strong conservative and free market values."

Other Big Donors

One of the donors in the top 10 list was a big supporter of a super-PAC that backed Trump in the 2016 election. Home Depot co-founder Bernard Marcus gave $5 million to Rebuilding America Now, a group originally formed with the help of Trump supporter Thomas Barrack in June 2016. Marcus gave $2 million to the Senate Leadership Fund, a super-PAC that supports Republican Senate candidates that’s linked to Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.

Democratic groups benefited from the first-ever seven-figure contributions from daughters of the late Melvin Simon, the billionaire shopping mall and real estate developer. Deborah Simon gave $2 million to SMP, which supports Democrats running for Senate, while Cynthia Simon-Skjodt gave the group $1 million. Simon-Skjodt also gave $500,000 to American Bridge 21st Century, the super-PAC founded by David Brock, the former right-wing operative who switched sides to back Democrats and now leads a group that specializes in compiling opposition research on Republicans.