The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Adelsons spent $55M to help GOP win battle for Congress
Billionaire casino owner Sheldon Adelson and his wife, Miriam, delivered $25 million to help Republicans try to hold the Senate in November’s congressional elections, adding to the $30 million they previously gave to bolster the GOP’s campaign to keep the House.
The Las Vegas Sands chairman and chief executive officer and his wife were among the big-dollar donors who lavished millions on political committees in July ahead of the first major political test of Donald Trump’s presidency, disclosures filed by Monday night with the Federal Election Commission show.
Their donation went to the Senate Leadership Fund, a super political action committee, and follows the couple’s earlier contribution to the Congressional Leadership Fund, a super PAC aligned with House Speaker Paul Ryan.
The two parties and their allied political committees are furiously raising money as the campaign for control of Congress enters a crucial phase. The main Democratic committee that backs House candidates has built its biggest cash-on-hand advantage over its Republican counterpart so far in the 2018 campaign, the filings show.
July was the sixth consecutive month the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has raised more than the National Republican Congressional Committee. The DCCC ended the month with $4.7 million more in its bank account.
That marks a turnaround from early in 2017, when the NRCC raised more in the first four months of the year on its way to building a $14.7 million cash advantage, before a series of expensive special elections drained its coffers.
Democrats need a net gain of 23 seats to win a majority in the House, while they have to gain two seats in the Senate to control that chamber.
The House Majority PAC, which supports Democrats, reported $3.7 million in donations and started August with $22.8 million in the bank. Renaissance Technologies LLC board chairman James Simons contributed $1.7 million. Michael R. Bloomberg, the founder of Bloomberg LP, the parent of Bloomberg News, made an in-kind contribution of polling data worth $456,975. He has pledged to give millions of dollars in 2018 to help Democrats retake control of the House.
Other large donors on the Democratic side included Karla Jurvetson, a psychiatrist and the ex-wife of venture capitalist Stephen Jurvetson, who donated $1 million to SMP, a super PAC that supports Senate Democrats. Qualcomm Inc. co-founder Irwin Jacobs and his wife, Joan Jacobs, combined to give $1 million to the group, while Deborah Simon, an Indianapolis philanthropist ranked among the top ten donors this cycle by the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics, gave $500,000. SMP raised $7.4 million in July and ended the month with $23.9 million in the bank.
Priorities USA, a Democratic super PAC focusing on voter engagement and turnout, reported raising $4.1 million, with $2 million of that coming from hedge fund manager S. Donald Sussman of Paloma Partners Management Co. It spent $5.2 million and ended July with $8.2 million in the bank.
Planned Parenthood Votes raised $2.5 million, including donations of $1.1 million from philanthropist Richard Rosenthal of Ohio, and another $1 million from Andrea Soros Colombel, the daughter of billionaire George Soros. The super PAC ended July with $6.5 million in the bank.