Embattled GOP senator invites people to become 'investors' and 'shareholders' in her campaign
On Thursday, The Daily Beast reported that Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-GA) is pitching her campaign to Republican donors as if it is a Wall Street investment.
"The Georgia Republican is offering donors and fundraisers benefit packages to support her re-election bid. Those packages come in three tiers: investor, shareholder, and board member," reported Lachlan Markey. "That’s according to a fundraising brochure obtained by The Daily Beast, which also details each of the benefits that donors can expect from membership in what Loeffler’s campaign refers to as a 'co-investor program' and has dubbed its 'executive council.'"
"It’s common for campaigns to award such honorifics to their top donors and fundraisers," said the report. "But the terms that the Loeffler campaign has chosen for its tiered donor honorees now carry some additional political baggage. Though the Justice Department chose to drop its investigation into Loeffler over her and her husband’s stock trades before the coronavirus pandemic caused the market to crash this year, the timing and size of her trades has been an albatross around the neck of her re-election effort."
"According to the brochure laying out the various levels of 'executive council' membership, an individual must donate $1,500 and a political action committee must give $5,000 if they are to qualify for the 'investors' title," said the report. "Alternatively they can raise $15,000 for the campaign. To achieve 'shareholders' status, an individual must give $2,800 and a PAC must give $7,500, or raise $30,000 for the campaign. The top tier, 'board member' is reserved for max-out donors—$5,600 for individuals and $10,000 for PACs—or those who raise $50,000 for the campaign."
Loeffler, who was appointed at the beginning of the year to complete the term of former Sen. Johnny Isakson, is fighting for her political life, as polls broadly show her losing the jungle primary to GOP Rep. Doug Collins in the wake of her stock scandal.
GOP groups are divided on whether to support her, with allies of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) mainly backing her, and allies of President Donald Trump supporting Collins.