Republican donors had hoped a credible challenger to Donald Trump would emerge in the 2024 GOP primary race, but they're increasingly resigned to the former president's dominance.
Only 66 individual donors made contributions of $250,000 or more through the end of June to GOP super PACs, which is a 24 percent drop from the same period in 2016, and while Trump has received relatively few large donations this year, his joint fundraising committee reported $23.7 million from donors who gave less than $200, reported Politico.
“Trump’s like 50 points ahead,” said a New York-based GOP fundraiser. “Who wants to get involved and waste money?”
Some big donors, such as cosmetics heir Ronald Lauder, are still weighing their options and considering throwing their support behind another GOP candidate, but many donors aren't excited by the other options and fear Trump could seek revenge if he's re-elected -- although they lack confidence in his chances at another term in the White House.
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“A lot of them are worried that President Trump, even though he’s a superstar, won’t be able to achieve the 51 percent, so they’re looking toward the next person,” said John Catsimatidis, the billionaire CEO of Gristedes supermarket chain. “It looks like Nikki Haley seems to be high on that totem pole right now, and [Florida Gov. Ron] DeSantis is there someplace, but DeSantis has been losing because of the sex appeal.”
A pro-Haley super PAC has gotten $5 million from WhatsApp co-founder Jan Koum and more than $2 million total from venture capitalists Tim Draper and Steven Stull, but GOP megadonors for the most part are keeping their wallets closed for now.
“This is a group that’s extremely conservative. Not politically conservative but conservative in actions. They want to research and know things before they flip a switch,” said New York-based consultant Stu Loeser. “There’s no real argument that anyone can beat Trump yet. They’re sitting on their hands this cycle so far until someone proves viability.”
