And in the past five years, the Adelsons have donated $ 280 million to the top super PACs of House and Senate Republicans, providing more than a third of the funding for the Congressional Leadership Fund and almost a quarter of the total Leadership Fund Senate during that period, according to a POLITICAL review of the FEC data. Its total federal donations over the past decade have reached half a billion dollars.
“Sheldon Adelson was the GOP megadonator of GOP megadonators,” said Ken Spain, a former spokesman for the Congressional Republican National Committee. “He has been a deciding factor for dozens, if not hundreds, of races in the past decade. In a world where Democrats can count on small dollar donations that can amount to tens of millions of dollars, the loss of a large donor of Adelson’s stature will be felt. ”
Several veteran Republicans predicted that Miriam would continue with the family’s substantial contributions to the Republican Party. “But it is not yet known whether or not it will continue at the astronomical level to which the Republicans are accustomed,” said Spain.
Miriam, 75, was intimately involved in her husband’s political donations, and the pair usually cut checks of identical sizes at the same time when they donated to Republican groups. For many candidates and party organizations, winning the support of the Adelsons was seen as necessary for their survival.
Its financial seal of approval – lent to dozens of Republican groups over its decades as contributors – signaled the credibility of one group to the rest of the donor class. A senior Republican involved in foreign spending said Adelson was a “star of the north” for donors, who “would always look to see if he was involved in a project as a measure of its value or importance to the party”.
Some Republicans, however, warned that Adelson had become “a crutch” for the party, which had become dependent on megadonadores to boost its political machine. In contrast, Democrats built a more robust digital fundraising machine, drawing anti-Trump energy to raise hundreds of millions of dollars that often outpaced the efforts of Republican mega donors.
In mid-2020, for example, the Adelsons increased their contribution to the Senate Leadership Fund, the Republican Party’s top super PAC, to $ 50 million a year. But the top nine Democratic candidates for the Senate added up to raise even more than online in August. (The Adelsons subsequently increased their SLF contributions to $ 70 million for the 2020 election.)
A chorus of Republican officials mourned Adelson’s death on Tuesday. In statements, Congressional Leadership Fund President Norm Coleman called Adelson “a giant” and a “visionary in all areas”, and Senate Leadership Fund CEO Steven Law called Adelson the “living, strong testament” of the power of the American dream “, who was” much more interested in doing good than in seeking recognition for it “.
Adelson, the son of a taxi driver, went through the world of hospitality and gambling, mainly in Nevada, to build one of the largest casino and hotel empires in the world. In 2020, Bloomberg valued Adelson’s wealth at $ 33.4 billion. He started donating to Republican causes in the 1990s, but his political power exploded after the 2010 Supreme Court Citizens United decision, which relaxed the limits of external political spending.
During the 2008 election, Adelson was a major donor behind Freedom’s Watch, an organization that supported Republican candidates for Congress. During the 2012 presidential race, he and his wife donated more than $ 20 million to a super PAC that supported former Mayor Newt Gingrich before giving $ 30 million to the super PAC that supports Mitt Romney after he secured the indication.
In 2016, the Adelsons distributed tens of millions of dollars for a pro-Trump super PAC. The couple was rewarded for their support with platform seats for Trump’s inauguration, and Trump later awarded Miriam, a doctor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
During the 2020 election, Trump’s advisers viewed Adelson’s generosity as critical to the president’s reelection prospects. But when the race entered its final stretch, there was a problem: Trump had harassed Adelson during a heated summer phone call, causing the tycoon to delay his planned offer to the president. The Adelsons would finally pull the trigger around Labor Day, donating $ 90 million to a newly formed super PAC, Preserve America, who attacked Democrat Joe Biden.
Unlike many major donors motivated by a wide range of interests, Adelson was largely driven by one concern: Israel. The 87-year-old tycoon helped finance organizations like the Republican Jewish Coalition and the Sionist Organization of America. He was an outspoken supporter of Trump’s decision to move the U.S. embassy in Israel to Jerusalem and a strong supporter of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Likud Party.
RJC annually held its annual conference at the Adelson’s Venetian resort, a meeting that regularly drew party heavyweights, from Texas Senator Ted Cruz to South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham and Vice President Mike Pence.
“His defense of the State of Israel and Jewish causes was unparalleled and has made a difference in countless lives, both at home and abroad,” said former Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid of Nevada in a statement released Tuesday. market.