GOP Gets $30 Million Midterm Cash Infusion from Casino Mogul Sheldon Adelson
In an effort to fight off Democrat efforts to regain control of the House of Representatives in the 2018 midterm elections, Las Vegas casino mogul Sheldon Adelson has pledged $30 million to House Republicans.
According to by Fox News, the donation is going to the House GOP-aligned Congressional Leadership Fund, a super Pac that supports Republican candidates.
The agreement was sealed last week when House Speaker Paul Ryan met with Adelson at the billionaire’s Venetian Hotel.
Also in attendance at the meeting were Adelson’s wife, Miriam, as well as Cory Bliss, who oversees the super PAC, and Jake Kastan, one of Ryan’s top political aides.
Yet, due to laws that prohibit federally elected officials from asking for seven-figure political contributions, former Minnesota Sen. Norm Coleman was tasked with asking for the donation while Ryan stepped away from the room, Politico reported.
“The contribution will become public later this month in the organization’s campaign finance filing,” according to Politico.
The deal with Adelson was a long time in the making, as Republicans have been courting the casino magnate in order to secure funds during this election cycle.
Back in February, numerous House Republicans paid respects to Adelson by attending an annual retreat he supports in Las Vegas that is put on by the Republican Jewish Coalition.
Adelson’s donation is three times the amount he gave to the CLF in 2016 and came far earlier than his previous donations, which usually were made closer to fall.
The super PAC is just one part of a two-pronged political organization designed to bolster and promote House Republicans.
The massive donation to House Republicans comes six months before the midterm elections, where Democrats will attempt to take back control of the lower chamber of Congress for the first time since 2010.
“According to an average of generic ballot polls, Democrats have a 7-point advantage over the GOP, though the lead has been significantly cut in recent months, with fears on the Democratic side as well that the so-called ‘blue wave’ won’t materialize on Election Day,” Fox reported.
Some Democrats have suggested the next Congress needs to include “moderate voices from America’s heartland” in order to appeal to the blue-collar voters who abandoned them during the 2016 election, according to USA Today.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi is hopeful that Democrats can take back the House.
“We will win. I will run for speaker. I feel confident about it,” Pelosi said earlier this month.
“And my members do, too,” she added.
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