For years, all presidential hopefuls that could land a meeting have courted the nation’s billionaires. And this week, we will see which candidates have successfully converted a top money man into a top donor.
Each candidates’ super PAC, which can accept unlimited donations as long as they don’t coordinate spending with the campaign, will file their first campaign finance reports of 2015 by Friday.
These reports will show just how much each presidential candidate’s allied group has in the bank to launch negative advertisements against their opponents, organize field programs in early states and march through what could be a slog of a nomination fight.
Most super PACs have already released top-line figures for the amount of money they raised in the first half of the year. But on Friday, the actual reports will reveal which of the nation’s megadonors have chosen to ally with their campaigns, a particularly important indicator of strength in the fractured Republican field.
Here’s what we’ve learned so far:
Lindsey Graham has three $500,000 donors
The South Carolina senator’s super PAC, Security is Strength, raised 50% of its $3 million from three donors: Houston Texans owner Bob McNair, philanthropist Ron Perelman and a New York holding company founded by investor Len Blavatnik.
Other prominent donors include Marlene Ricketts, the wife of one of the Republican Party’s most prominent donors, Joe Ricketts, who gave $10,000, and General Electric chief and former Obama administration official Jeff Immelt, who gave $25,000.
The group had $2.75 million on hand as of June 30.