Adelsons Become Trump’s Biggest Donors With $75 Million to PAC

(Bloomberg) -- Casino mogul Sheldon Adelson and his wife Miriam Adelson became the biggest contributors to Donald Trump’s re-election effort, with $75 million in donations to a super-PAC that is spending heavily on television ads supporting the president, according to filings with the Federal Election Commission.

For the Adelsons, who were among the top donors to Trump in 2016, the donation to Preserve America PAC is the most they’ve given to a single super-PAC in an election cycle, with each donating in $12.5 million increments. They’ve also given $50 million this cycle to the Senate Leadership Fund, a super-PAC with ties to Majority Leader Mitch McConnell that supports GOP Senate candidates.

Preserve America PAC, launched on the last day of August, pulled in a total of $83.8 million, including the Adelsons’ contribution. It spent $77 million in September backing Trump, whose cash-strapped campaign started pulling television buys in battleground states in August.

The cash infusion comes as Trump has fallen far behind Joe Biden in fundraising. Biden and the Democratic National Committee raised $383 million in September, breaking the monthly record they set in August when their combined haul was $364.5 million. Jen O’Malley Dillon, Biden’s campaign manager, said on Twitter that the campaign now has $432 million in the bank.

Trump’s re-election effort raised $210 million in August but has yet to release financial figures for September. Two committees that support his campaign and the Republican National Committee are due to report their third quarter fundraising numbers Thursday.

His campaign entered September with $121 million in the bank. In April, Biden and the DNC had about $98 million in the bank compared to $255 million for Trump’s re-election effort.

Politico first reported the Adelsons’ donation.

In a little more than a month, Preserve America PAC raised more than the $82 million that America First Action, Trump’s designated super-PAC, has raised since the beginning of 2019 through August. America First Action is due to report its September totals to the FEC on Tuesday.

Preserve America PAC, led by Chris LaCivita, the Republican strategist who orchestrated the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth ads against John Kerry in 2004, has booked $67.1 million worth of ads since launching, according to Advertising Analytics.

The group has made seven-figure buys in 19 different markets, all in battleground states, including Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

Other donors included Home Depot co-founder Bernard Marcus, who gave $5 million, investment banker Warren Stephens, who gave $2 million, and Wisconsin billionaire Diane Hendricks, who gave $1 million.

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