A super PAC tied to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky that is bankrolling ads to help endangered Senate Republicans in several states has received tens of millions of dollars from the country’s wealthiest individuals.
Las Vegas casino magnate Sheldon Adelson and his wife, Miriam, contributed $10 million each to the Senate Leadership Fund, according to Federal Election Commission filings.
Other notable donors include Home Depot cofounder Marcus Bernard, Houston Texans CEO Robert McNair, Chicago hedge-fund manager Ken Griffin, energy entrepreneur T. Boone Pickens and real-estate investor Sam Zell.
The Senate Leadership Fund has raised a total of $57.5 million, according to FEC data.
$57.5 million Amount raised by the Republican Senate Leadership Fund
Politico reported late Tuesday that the fund will spend $25 million to aid Republican candidates in Nevada, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, Missouri, Indiana and North Carolina in hopes of blunting the impact of presidential nominee Donald Trump’s troubles.
The Senate Leadership Fund’s president, Steven Law, is a former McConnell chief of staff. The PAC is affiliated with American Crossroads, another super PAC founded by former George W. Bush aide Karl Rove.
The Senate Leadership Fund was created in January as a response to the Senate Majority PAC, a super PAC connected to Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada.
$55.3 million Amount raised by the Democratic Senate Majority PAC
The Senate Majority PAC has raised $55.3 million. Its major donors include billionaire philanthropist George Soros, Dreamworks CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg, director Steven Spielberg and Los Angeles entrepreneur Eli Broad.
The nonpartisan Cook Political Report forecast on Tuesday that Democrats would pick up five to seven seats in next month’s election, giving them a majority for the first time in two years. If Democrats held on in Nevada and won five other competitive states, they would start next year with 51 votes, including two independents.
A prior version of this post gave incorrect figures for the amounts raised by the Senate Leadership Fund and the Senate Majority PAC. It also gave the incorrect number of Senate seats Democrats would have early next year if they won the six competitive states the Senate Leadership Fund is spending to protect.
Curtis Tate: 202-383-6018, @tatecurtis
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