Billionaire Thiel serves as main funding source for PAC promoting Kobach’s campaign
California billionaire Peter Thiel was the primary contributor to a political action committee that conducted a poll showing Kris Kobach leading all Republican contenders for an open Senate seat in Kansas.
Thiel, a co-founder of PayPal and early investor in Facebook, contributed $100,000 to the Free Forever PAC on Dec. 31, according to a campaign finance report the PAC filed with Federal Election Commission last week.
The group, which formed in October, released a poll in December showing Kobach running competitively against Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in a theoretical matchup.
Ryan Girdusky, the PAC’s chairman, said the group released the poll to counter the narrative that Pompeo, the preferred candidate of national Republicans, would easily capture the nomination if he entered the race.
Asked about whether Thiel was one of the PAC’s financial supporters after the release of the poll in December, Girdusky replied at the time, “Possibly.”
Thiel’s contribution makes up more than 95% of the PAC’s total fundraising for 2019, according to the FEC report. Robert Hodgson, the owner of Shawnee-based gunpowder manufacture Hodgson Powder Company, also gave the group $5,000 on top of Thiel’s donation.
Girdusky did not immediately respond to an email Saturday about Thiel’s financial support for the PAC.
Thiel previously hosted a fundraiser with conservative pundit Ann Coulter in support of Kobach’s campaign in September. He also steered six figures into a dark money group to support Kobach’s unsuccessful bid for Kansas governor in 2018, according to multiple sources.
The billionaire investor was one of the few figures in Silicon Valley to embrace President Donald Trump in 2016. Both Kobach and Thiel served on Trump’s transition team.
Pompeo has opted against joining the Senate race, which has strengthened Kobach’s prospects in the race. But Kobach has struggled to keep pace with Rep. Roger Marshall, R-Kansas, in fundraising and national Republican groups remain wary of his candidacy.
Thiel’s support through outside groups could be critical in helping Kobach, a former Kansas Republican Party chairman and former Kansas secretary of state, overcome his money disadvantage in the race.
In a race without Pompeo, the poll paid for the Thiel-backed PAC showed Kobach leading Marshall 32.9% to 16.2%. All other candidates were polling in single digits, while a plurality of 39.1% of Republican voters remained undecided.
The group also conducted a general election poll, but did not release the results to show how Kobach would fare against Democratic front-runner state Sen. Barbara Bollier.
A separate poll, conducted in January and paid for by the pro-Marshall Keep Kansas Great PAC, showed the western Kansas congressman in a dead heat with Kobach in the primary race.
Trump tweeted out the results of the poll, which gives Marshall a margin of error lead, but did not state a candidate preference. “Close race in Kansas!” the president said last month.
Girdusky reacted indignantly and touted the results of his own poll as more accurate.
“This is a garbage push poll. Not scientifically taken. My PAC did a scientific poll and Kobach is way out in front,” Girdusky said in a reply to Trump’s tweet.
This story was originally published February 8, 2020 at 12:38 PM with the headline "Billionaire Thiel serves as main funding source for PAC promoting Kobach’s campaign."
