Billionaire GOP mega-donor Sheldon Adelson is tired of wasting money on losers
Alex Wong/Getty Images
Sheldon Adelson, the billionaire casino magnate and profligate Republican bankroller, would like to spend his fortune on a winning candidate in 2016. That's because Adelson and his wife dumped almost $93 million on the 2012 elections — nearly four times more than any other individual — most of it on losing candidates. And while that sum included $30 million for eventual GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney, much of it was also wasted propping up Newt Gingrich's shaky primary campaign, and on various losing candidates around the country.
So this time around, Adelson is already looking for a more mainstream GOP presidential candidate to shower with donations, according to The Washington Post, which reports that the Adelsons are "plotting their investments based not on personal loyalty, but on a much more strategic aim" of putting a Republican in the White House. As the The Post noted, that would seem to favor establishment candidates — the Jeb Bushes of the GOP field — over potential insurgents like Sens. Ted Cruz (Texas) and Rand Paul (Ky.) And wouldn't you know it, four potential mainstream candidates — Bush, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, and Ohio Gov. John Kasich — will meet with Adelson later this week when they address the Republican Jewish Coalition in Las Vegas.
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