Marco Rubio may have billionaire mega-donor Sheldon Adelson in his corner

Marco Rubio and his wife Jeanette Rubio.

(Image credit: (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)))

published 23 April 2015

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) is emerging as casino magnate Sheldon Adelson's preferred candidate in the 2016 GOP primary, according to Politico's Alex Isenstadt.

The 81-year-old Adelson — the world's 18th-richest person and aspiring GOP kingmaker — considers Rubio the "future of the Republican Party" and admires his hawkish stance on Israel. The two have a fairly chummy relationship, too.

Rubio has reached out to Adelson more often than any other 2016 candidate, sources close to Adelson say, and has provided him with the most detailed plan for how he’d manage America’s foreign policy.Since entering the Senate in 2011, Rubio has met privately with the mogul on a half-dozen occasions. In recent months, he‘s been calling Adelson about once every two weeks, providing him with meticulous updates on his nascent campaign. During a recent trip to New York City, Rubio took time out of his busy schedule to speak by phone with the megadonor. [Politico]

Adelson spent roughly $100 million on the 2012 election, much of that to prop up the floundering candidacy of former House Speaker Newt Gingrich. That's not quite the $300 million the Koch brothers are prepared to drop on the 2016 elections, but it's a pretty healthy start. A handful of Republican White House hopefuls plan to meet with Adelson this weekend in Las Vegas.