Major Republican Donors Circling Back to Supporting Trump: 'I Want to Win'
A number of Republican Party mega-donors are coalescing around the candidacy of former President Donald Trump after having spent a year or longer seeking an alternative to him, according to a report.
Trump kicked off his campaign just days after the November 2022 midterm elections.
A plethora of challengers quickly entered the race, but some of them have since dropped out.
Meanwhile, candidates such as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former Vice President Mike Pence and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley are digging in.
The 2024 primary will officially kick off in Iowa in January, a date these candidates hope will give them momentum heading into February and March.
But in the Real Real Politics average of the primary, Trump’s lead is big. He currently holds the support of 59.1 percent of likely voters in the average.
The only other candidate who was in double digits as of Friday was DeSantis, with 12.6 percent support.
With less than three months until voters begin casting ballots, some big donors told NBC News that they now feel that Trump will ultimately become the nominee.
Megadonor Ed Broyhill, who was Trump’s finance chair in 2020 in North Carolina, told the network he was seeking an alternative to Trump, but he now believes the only hope to defeat President Joe Biden next November is supporting the former president.
“There is no doubt in my mind that Donald Trump will be the nominee of our party,” Broyhill told NBC News. “The grassroots are a solid foundation for Donald Trump.”
Broyhill said he considered supporting DeSantis and Pence, but is back in Trump’s camp.
“I have met with all the candidates,” Broyhill said. “None are close to the level of support Trump has.”
Broyhill supported Trump’s 2016 and 2020 bids.
Meanwhile, Oklahoma oil and gas billionaire Harold Hamm has closed his checkbook to other candidates and is now again putting his money on Trump, after what NBC called a prior “falling out” between him and Trump.
One of Hamm’s deputies, his communications officer Kristin Thomas, told NBC News that Hamm’s revived support for Trump is something that should not be overthought.
“He has supported a wide slate of candidates that he believes would make a good president,” she said.
But numerous other wealthy donors have been sending checks to Trump. One of them, who was not named by NBC News, told the network he had seen the writing on the wall as he explained his recent donations to Trump.
“Why? It is easy, I want to win,” the person said.
The donor had given money to DeSantis and Republican Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina.
The donor said he has been watching the polls and concluded of voters, “They are moving back to President Trump, and I want to win.”
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