Rubio Is Poised to Win the Billionaire Primary
Mother Jones
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Presidential hopeful Marco Rubio may not be posting the same support as Donald Trump or Ben Carson in the polls, but he appears to be pulling ahead of his Republican rivals among one crucial demographic: billionaire donors.
In the post-Citizens United era, candidates rely on megadonors to help fuel their campaigns and super-PACs. In 2012, Newt Gingrich’s campaign was kept alive largely through the support of casino mogul Sheldon Adelson, who donated $20 million to a super-PAC backing the former House speaker. This campaign cycle, several of the Republican candidates have superrich donors in their corner. New York Jets owner Woody Johnson is backing Jeb Bush, whose super-PAC raised more than $100 million in the first half of the year. Foster Friess, who supported Rick Santorum’s bid in 2012, has the former Pennsylvania senator’s back this time around, too. A super-PAC supporting Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas took in $11 million from eccentric hedge fund CEO Robert Mercer.
But now that the race to win over the nation’s billionaires has begun in earnest, Rubio is poised to take the lead.
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