Posted on 05/14/2015 7:49:09 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
Former UN Ambassador John Bolton announced today that he will not seek the GOP nomination for president in 2016, effectively leaving the foreign policy hawk’s top super PAC donors to look elsewhere for someone to back.
Some have already found their candidate — or maybe more than one — though in many cases we don’t yet know whom they’ve anointed. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) is the only White House aspirant whose campaign has reported donors at this point. (Mid-July, when the reports will come due, will likely be full of surprises.)
Texas oil tycoon T. Boone Pickens seems to have found his man. Pickens gave $100,000 to Bolton’s super PAC in 2014 but said last week that he’s given $100,000 to former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, who hasn’t yet entered the race — officially.
Houston Texans football team owner Robert McNair, who gave $500,000 to Bolton’s super PAC last year, supports Ted Cruz. So does Renaissance Technologies CEO Robert Mercer, who topped all other donors to Bolton’s fund with a combined $1 million in donations.
Other big donors to Bolton’s super PAC haven’t yet made their allegiances publicly known: Mega GOP donor Paul Singer gave $25,000; Arkansas businessman Warren Stephens doled out $500,000; and Robert Agostinelli and Michael Langman of the private equity Rhône Group gave $200,000 each.
Any of them would be most welcome in the camps of the other Republicans who would like to set up shop in the Oval Office.
And then there’s however much money is already sitting in Bolton’s super PAC. As of December 31, 2014, it had spent almost all of the more than $5.8 million it amassed in that election cycle, including close to $3.1 million used for independent expenditures benefiting GOP candidates in last year’s congressional races. Bolton’s regular PAC took in nearly $2.3 million and gave $477,446 of it to 2014 GOP congressional candidates.
With an already crowded Republican primary field in 2016, members of the GOP donor class will no doubt have their eyes, in part, on where they can get the most bang for their campaign buck in a race that some are predicting could cost $5 billion — and that’s just the presidential part of the 2016 balloting.
Bolton hasn’t publicly indicated which candidate he will support in the GOP primary, if any. But let the contest begin in earnest for his prolific fundraising chops, list of uber-wealthy buddies and the cold hard cash sitting in his super PAC.
Yay, dilute the field even more. Thanks, media, for choosing for us.
How is his dropping out diluting the field more. Isn’t I doing the opposite?
I wonder if every rich oil man in Texas is going o back bush. I hope not. he is all but done after the past week’s irzq question debacle
Secretary of State Bolton has a nice ring to it.
Pretty sure Bolton is adviser to Cruz.
I’m a Texas bundler for Cruz (different than the Super PACs) and we already have one individual at $515,986.04 and another at $291,400.00. That’s just in Texas.
I’ve been advocating Bolton for S of S for years. He would be brilliant.
Why bother mention his name at all? They’re just making it stick in peoples’ minds. For people in general, it would be like trying to remember the names of every kid in a 30-student classroom.
That's a LOT of money. He must have millions by now.
Thanks for helping him.
Like I said In other posts, my donations go to FR, Cruz, head injury vets and my niece's thalassemia fund :) she's doing well.
The head injured vets break my heart.
Cruz would take care of them better. Much better I hope. They should be PRIORITY.
That’s a point I didn’t think of. I agree that I just want to hear or read about the three or four front runners. And then just Cruz by the end :)
I wish Carson and Huck would tell their followers to go to the Cruz camp. They cannot win the presidency but they can hurt or help Ted.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.