Report: Paul Singer may join Marco Rubio campaign as national finance chair
Marco Rubio could be getting a little help from a billionaire backer. The New York Post on Monday reported Paul Singer could be tapped as the national finance chair of Rubio’s presidential bid. In October, Singer announced he planned to back Rubio in the 2016 presidential election. At the time, Singer told dozens of other donors that Rubio was the only candidate who can “navigate this complex primary process, and still be in the position to defeat” Hillary Clinton in the fall, according to a letter obtained by the New York Times. Singer has helped raise money for both Rubio’s official campaign and his super PAC. The New York Post reported that Singer has not been involved with the political operation since super PACs can’t coordinate with the campaign. The New York Post reported that a source close to Singer said his move to the campaign was “not accurate.”
Marco Rubio wins support of Idaho billionaire Frank VanderSloot
Idaho billionaire Frank VanderSloot said Wednesday he will support Republican Marco Rubio for president, adding another prominent donor to the Florida senator’s endorsement list. “He’s clearly, in our opinion, the brightest of the bunch,” said VanderSloot, founder and chief executive of the health care products company Melaleuca. “He has a great understanding of what it takes to have a robust economy and he has a real firm grasp on international affairs.” VanderSloot said he plans to raise money for Rubio, but has not decided how much to give personally. In 2012, VanderSloot and his company gave $1.1 million to Restore Our Future, a super political action committee that helped GOP nominee Mitt Romney. He also was one of Romney’s national campaign finance co-chairs, raising at least $2 million for the campaign. VanderSloot said he and his wife gave $50,000 in June to the Conservative Solutions PAC, which is backing Rubio’s campaign. VanderSloot has contributed $2,700, the maximum allowed by law, to the presidential campaign of former technology executive Carly Fiorina. He said Fiorina ran a close second in his deliberations about who to endorse, but he concluded she lacks Rubio’s charisma. “Marco Rubio has a big edge on Carly Fiorina on the likeability factor,” he said. “He is just so dang likable.” VanderSloot is the latest major GOP donor to sign on with Rubio, joining investor Paul Singer and hedge fund manager Cliff Asness. VanderSloot said many big donors have been hesitant to make a public endorsement before a clear front-runner emerged. But he said such a delay will only help candidates such as billionaire businessman Donald Trump and retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson — candidates he doesn’t think can unite the country and win the White House. “We’re stepping out earlier, because it’s a dangerous game to play if we don’t,” he said. Republished with permission of the Associated Press.
Marco Rubio’s Capitol Hill fundraiser to draw wave of new supporters
Taking advantage of a surge in popularity after several strong Republican Party debate appearances, Marco Rubio expects to draw a new crop of supporters with a Capitol Hill fundraiser Monday. As reported by Alex Isenstadt of POLITICO, the event invitation names about 70 financial backers for the Florida senator’s presidential campaign — more than half came on board after Rubio’s debate performance in Boulder, supporters say. Originally, the event was to be held at a town house in Washington D.C., but as the guest list began to swell, Isenstadt writes that organizers moved the reception to the prestigious Capitol Hill Club. Names on the invitation include several names new to the campaign: Verizon lobbyist Peter Davidson; NextEra Energy lobbyist Christopher Chapel; Crossroads Strategies lobbyist Matthew Lapinski and Russ Thomasson, a former staffer for U.S. Sen. John Cornyn of Texas. Also scheduled to appear are a number of House members, such as U.S. Reps. Sean Duffy of Wisconsin, Darren LaHood of Illinois Austin Scott of Georgia and Todd Rokita of Indiana. Isenstadt notes that this new push for hard dollars comes after Rubio recently won the support of billionaire hedge fund manager Paul Singer, a leading Republican bundler.
Marco Rubio’s low-budget campaign looks to ramp up as voting nears
For months, Marco Rubio‘s campaign team in South Carolina operated out of a staffer’s garage, plotting strategy for the first-in-the-South primary from freshly painted yard sale furniture and tiny classroom desks. The shoestring budget setup was a point of pride for the Republican presidential candidate’s team. Now, with Rubio enjoying a burst of momentum as the early voting contests edge closer, the Florida senator’s campaign is moving beyond its lean and mean roots. On Wednesday, Rubio’s South Carolina team officially moved out of the garage and into a proper campaign headquarters — though they brought some of the yard sale furniture along with them. “This election could very well be decided in this state,” Rubio told the crowd gathered at the office in Columbia, South Carolina’s capital. Rubio’s team also opened offices in Nevada a few weeks ago. His staff grew by about 30 percent in October, with more than 70 people now on the campaign payroll. The new hires include communications and digital advisers, as well as field workers to boost voter contact and advance staff to help set up larger and more frequent events in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada, the first four states to vote in the nomination contest. Whether Rubio can effectively build up his campaign infrastructure in those states may determine whether he can turn his natural political talents and easy appeal with GOP voters into primary victories. “Everywhere I go I hear folks talking about him,” said Glenn McCall, a Republican National Committeeman from South Carolina. “So it’s the right time to come into the state, set up shop and set up more time here.” While Rubio’s advisers say they’re simply executing the next phase in a carefully crafted campaign blueprint, there’s no doubt the team’s early penny-pinching was driven in part by necessity. The senator’s fundraising has been underwhelming and his money totals trailed several rivals through summer and fall, including a lackluster $6 million haul in third financial reporting period of the year. But buoyed by strong performances in the last two GOP debates, Rubio has been attracting more high-dollar donors, including billionaire investor Paul Singer and New York hedge fund manager Cliff Asness. With more cash in the pipeline, Rubio is expected to spend more money on travel to early voting states and on larger events aimed at putting him in front of as many voters as possible. Rubio communications director Alex Conant pointed to a 450-person event in New Hampshire last week and a similar sized event in Davenport, Iowa, on Wednesday as examples of the type of settings the candidate will appear at more regularly. Rubio’s more robust travel plans are welcome news to some Republicans in early voting states who have griped for months that the senator wasn’t spending enough time on the ground meeting with donors and wooing important backers. While some candidates have all but taken up residency in Iowa and New Hampshire, Rubio has been a more sporadic presence. “He’s recognizing that in order to win in New Hampshire, you need to be available to voters — not just once or twice but more often than that,” said Donna Sytek, a prominent New Hampshire Republican. She called Rubio an “attractive candidate” but said she’s also still considering Chris Christie and Carly Fiorina. Rubio’s backers believe the campaign’s fiscal caution has already been validated by the early money woes of other candidates. Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker quickly built a large and expensive operation, but was forced to withdraw from the race after just two months when his fundraising stopped covering his bills. And despite raising more than $100 million for his super PAC, Florida Gov. Jeb Bush slashed payroll spending by 40 percent after campaign fundraising slowed. To be sure, the Rubio team’s tales of cheapness have helped the campaign define the Florida senator as a scrappy underdog taking on wealthier rivals. Campaign manager Terry Sullivan has bragged about sticking Rubio on budget airline Frontier — which he called “a special kind of hell” — and touted his rule of personally approving expenses over $500. At one of the campaign’s Nevada offices, staffers tried to do their part to live up to the less is more mantra. After noticing a pizza place next to a campaign office had free wireless internet that required a password, a staffer walked over and bought two pieces of pizza and asked for the internet access code. But the cost-cutting measure was short-lived. After about three weeks, the pizza place caught on and asked the Rubio team to stop. Republished with permission of the Associated Press.
Hillary Clinton targeted in ad from group tied to Koch brothers
Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Rodham Clinton on Friday makes her first appearance in a negative advertisement funded by the wealthy Republican donors tied to billionaires Charles and David Koch. A 30-second ad aimed at Internet users in South Carolina and Florida shows headlines about the number of veterans who have died while awaiting health care. Then it shows a recent MSNBC interview with Clinton, who said of problems at the Department of Veterans Affairs, “It’s not been widespread as it has been made out to be.” “Not widespread?” text in the ad says. “Our veterans deserve better.” The digital ad, backed by at least $100,000 from Concerned Veterans for America, a nonprofit group that does not identify its donors, is timed to run as Clinton participates in a Democratic candidate forum in South Carolina. Clinton is “completely out of touch” with VA issues, which are “inarguably widespread,” Dan Caldwell, a spokesman for Concerned Veterans for America, told The Associated Press on Thursday. After Republicans criticized her remarks in the MSNBC interview, Clinton’s campaign said she was “outraged” by VA delays in providing care. Concerned Veterans for America is one of a half-dozen political and policy groups funded by the Kochs and hundreds of like-minded donors. That network is poised to spend a generous portion of at least $750 million over this year and next on issues relevant to the presidential race. The ad marks the first major paid media effort by a Koch group to ding Clinton’s 2016 candidacy. As she gains steam in a three-candidate Democratic primary, while the Republican nominating process is far from settled, GOP groups are beginning their Clinton attack efforts. The veterans ad follows a television commercial a week ago by a political group called Future 45. That ad focused on Clinton’s work as secretary of state, particularly in Libya, concluding with a narrator saying: “Responsible for a disaster. More threats. More war.” Although the group spent only about $65,000 airing the spot a few times, according to Kantar Media’s CMAG ad tracker, there are signs that more Clinton attacks are on the way. On Monday at a New York fundraiser for Republican opposition group America Rising, headlined by 2012 GOP nominee Mitt Romney, donors were encouraged to support Future 45, an attendee told the AP. The attendee was not authorized to share details from the private event and requested anonymity. Republican hedge-fund billionaires Paul Singer of New York and Kenneth Griffin of Chicago are among those who have already written six-figure checks to Future 45, a fundraising report filed in July shows. The group’s name references the 45th president, who will be elected next November. Republished with permission of the Associated Press.
Rising Marco Rubio seeks to separate from GOP’s presidential pack
Marco Rubio‘s “lean” presidential campaign is putting on weight. By every measure, the Florida senator’s bid for the Republican nomination has grown more robust in October, boosted again by a strong showing in Wednesday night’s debate. In preference polls and money flowing in, he’s ticking upward. The campaign’s fundraising, which lagged that of several competitors over the summer and early fall, just finished its best month yet. In the hours around the debate Rubio raised $750,000 online — more than on any previous occasion. The next day, Rubio was cheered at two fundraisers in Chicago, each of which had more attendees than organizers had planned. At a “young professionals” happy hour at a downtown sports bar, the 44-year-old Rubio told a rowdy group that he woke up that morning “still kind of wired” from the debate. “It’s becoming easier to get people to say yes,” said Chris Grozev, who said he sold a couple hundred $100 tickets to the happy hour. Phil Rosen, a New York real estate lawyer who hosted one of the most lucrative fundraisers for the campaign a few weeks ago, said he’s since had “people come out of the woodwork and call me directly, asking for another event so that they can meet him.” And billionaire investor Paul Singer on Friday announced his support for Rubio in a letter to his extensive network of Republican fundraisers, encouraging them to follow his lead. Donor enthusiasm has given campaign leaders who have prided themselves on a slim and sleek operation — partly out of necessity because of low cash flow — the confidence to increase hiring. Rubio’s staff grew by about one-third in October, making for crowded conditions in the Washington row house that serves as headquarters. Rubio is steadily adding resources in each of the first four voting states, and the campaign just signed an office lease in South Carolina, the third state voting in the primaries early next year. Volunteers there had been working out of a garage. “We’re definitely building,” said Terry Sullivan, Rubio’s campaign manager. “But we’re scaling at the right time.” With growth comes the potential for growing pains. Rubio’s competitors are sharpening their criticism of the freshman senator. In Wednesday’s debate, mentor-turned-rival Jeb Bush went after him for missing Senate votes while he campaigned for president. The former Florida governor came to the debate after briefing his top fundraisers on a strategy that hinges on overpowering Rubio, whom his campaign sees as his most dangerous competitor for the voters and donors who want to see a traditional nominee. Bush’s attack backfired during the debate. But other contenders — from Democratic front-runner Hillary Rodham Clinton‘s allies to Florida newspapers — have seized on that line of attack, and it is likely to persist. Donald Trump, the celebrity real estate mogul who continues to lead in national GOP polls, also is increasingly scornful of Rubio. In an interview with Breitbart News published this week, Trump called Rubio “incapable of telling the truth.” However, Rubio-rippers have their work cut out for them: He was one of the best-liked candidates in an Associated Press-Gfk poll conducted this month, with registered Republicans viewing him more favorably than unfavorably by a 31 point margin, second only to retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson. And Rubio has said he’s not going to make his nomination fight personal. He said Thursday on ABC’s “Good Morning America” that he has “admiration” for Bush and wants only to underscore policy differences between the two. Rubio has sketched out the basics of proposals on China, education and taxes, among other issues; Saturday is the last day of his “31 Days of Policy.” But he’ll have to go deeper into detail as the race intensifies. Singer praised Rubio’s grasp of the issues and his status as “one of the best communicators the modern Republican Party has seen,” in a letter distributed Friday to his donor network, first reported by The New York Times. “Marco Rubio can appeal to both the head and the heart. He can lead our nation by inspiring it,” wrote Singer, who is among the most influential donors in Republican politics. Rubio said Friday during a campaign appearance in Iowa he was grateful for the billionaire’s backing. “It’ll help us with resources,” he said. “Resources alone are not enough. You have to have the right ideas and the right principles.” Rubio has been slow to outline a path to his party’s nomination. His campaign argues he could do well in any of the first four states, a quartet that also includes his childhood home of Nevada. Accordingly, he has divided his time roughly equally among them and has six or so employees in each. Bush’s campaign, in its presentation last week to donors at a Houston gathering, noted 12 staffers in New Hampshire and another 25 spread among the other three early states. Rubio’s equal-attention approach to the early states also shows up in the television advertising plan. Campaign ads are to begin the week after Thanksgiving, with plans to spend about $17 million through the early primary contests, according to information provided by Kantar Media’s CMAG advertising tracker. About the same amount of money is scheduled for Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina. A super PAC filled with Rubio allies follows a similar advertising strategy, CMAG shows, with about $2 million to $3 million in ad time reserved in each of the first three states. The campaign and super PAC are stepping up after a summer of silence. To date, the only Rubio-boosting commercials on television have come from a nonprofit group that keeps its donors secret. Conservative Solutions Project had spent $7.3 million through the end of this week. No other presidential candidate has benefited from so much advertising by a secret-money nonprofit, a potential liability with voters who have said in polls that they are tired of big donors and secret money flowing into elections. Republished with permission of the Associated Press.
