Las Vegas casino owner Sheldon Adelson plans is putting his money where his views are this November by donating as much as $100 million to various Republican candidates and conservative groups, reports
The Daily Beast.
Adelson has placed his focus on the Senate, where several close races could decide whether Republicans are able to win back the majority, but is directing many of his largest donations to a small group of conservative nonprofits that are not required by the Internal Revenue Service to disclose the names of its contributors.
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GOP sources tell The Daily Beast that the recipients of Adelson's largesse are Americans for Prosperity, strategist Karl Rove's Crossroads GPS; the pro-Israel Republican Jewish Coalition; and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
While Crossroads GPS declined to confirm it had received money from Adelson,
Politico reports that he has given $10 million to the group.
Crossroads GPS this month has reported spending at least $4.6 million, according to Politico.
As of Sept. 17, Crossroads GPS has spent $3,408,364 against Democrats, including in several key Senate contests, according to the
Center for Responsive Politics (CRP), a non-partisan campaign finance watchdog.
The two biggest targets for the group's ads are candidates in Colorado and Alaska. It has spent $1,400,461 against incumbent Democrat Sen. Mark Udall of Colorado, and $804,351 to fund ads against Democrat Sen. Mark Begich.
In the 2012 elections, Adelson dedicated almost $150 million of his own money to candidates and groups, including between $30 and $40 million to Crossroads GPS, the
Huffington Post reported.
This year, however, Adelson is not the biggest player in the money game.
Senate Majority Leader Harry
Reid's Senate Majority PAC, which draws most of its financing from billionaires and labor unions, has eclipsed both Adelson and Crossroads, spending $28,789,639 — more than any other PAC in 2014, reports the CRP.
“With all the money that Democrats will have in Senate races from Harry Reid’s organization and Tom Steyer’s organization, it’s critical that pro GOP groups be well funded,” veteran GOP political operative Charlie Black told Politico.
“Sheldon Adelson is expected to be the single largest giver to those committees so his role is very important.”
In conjunction with the Patriot Majority, a pro-Democratic effort has poured at least $36 million into ads and voter outreach, according to
The Washington Post.
Climate-change activist Tom Steyer's group,
NextGen Climate Action 2014, has spent $4,888,478 in independent expenditures to date, according to CRP.
The battle for the Senate has driven much of the spending this year, which is one reason why spending by outside groups has risen this cycle.
Outside groups have spent an estimated $97 million on advertising in Senate races this election cycle, an increase from the estimated $78 million spent at this same juncture in 2012, according to the
Wesleyan Media Group.
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