Midterm big spenders: the top 20 political donors this election

[Equinox Moon]

An extraordinary amount of money is being funneled into the midterms by a small number of people. But who are they, and what are they trying to buy?

The 2018 midterms will probably be the most expensive in US history. More than $5.2bn is predicted to be funneled into closely watched races – and an extraordinary amount is coming from just a few individuals.

Political spending has leapt by 35% since the 2014 midterms, according to the Center for Responsive Politics (CRP). The center has found that individual political donations account for the majority of campaign cash across the board: they comprise about 71% of donations to Senate races for both Republicans and Democrats and about 61% of donations to House candidates.

While political donations can come in all shapes and sizes – from large to small – it’s the big-ticket players who have an outsized influence in shaping elections and, in turn, public policy.

“Donors get their phone calls answered, is one way of thinking about it,”

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/nov/02/midterm-spending-top-political-donors-sheldon-adelson


I wonder... America could just be the most corrupt government in the world.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

1. Top 3

1. Sheldon and Miriam Adelson, $113m
Net worth: $31bn
Politics: Conservative
Bio in brief: Sheldon Adelson is the head of an international casino empire, the Las Vegas Sands, and owner of the Las Vegas Review-Journal newspaper. He was the largest individual donor to the 2016 Trump campaign and to Trump’s inauguration fund.
Midterms behavior: The largest recipients of Adelson’s donations are the Congressional Leadership Fund and the Senate Leadership Fund, both Super Pacs dedicated to electing Republicans. He gave $25m to each.

Tom Steyer supports causes such as combatting climate change.
2. Thomas Steyer and Kathryn Taylor, $50.7m
Net worth: 1.6bn
Politics: Liberal
Bio in brief: Steyer, a former hedge fund manager, has focused on political and environmental activism since he retired in 2012. Heavily involved in Democratic activism and fundraising for decades, he’s been called the progressive’s answer to the Koch brothers.
Midterms behavior: The largest single recipient of Steyer’s donations is his own Pac, NextGen Climate Action, which supports candidates and causes that work to combat climate change. He has given it about $41m so far.

3. Richard and Elizabeth Uihlein, $39m
Net worth: Unknown
Politics: Conservative
Bio in brief: Founders of a successful shipping supply company, Uline, the Uihleins are “the most powerful conservative couple you’ve never heard of”, according to the New York Times. The Uihleins have been supporting conservative causes for years but have only recently received national attention.
Midterms behavior: They’ve given at least $6.7m to the Club for Growth Action, a Super Pac dedicated to supporting anti-big government and “pro-growth” candidates, and at least $8m to Restoration Pac, a Super Pac with a wide range of politically conservative stances. They also give heavily to candidates and causes in their home state of Wisconsin.