Billionaires crowd out the bundlers in White House race

WASHINGTON — During the 2012 presidential campaign, Montana lumber company owner Sherm Anderson found it "fairly easy" to help raise $2 million from his fellow Republicans to boost Mitt Romney's presidential hopes.

Anderson expects a far tougher road in 2016, given the growing dominance of super PACs and other outside groups that are amassing millions in political contributions from a small cluster of the nation's richest individuals.

"It turns small contributors off," Anderson said. "They say, 'Gee whiz, I thought I was helping by giving $100 or $1,000, but how can I help when someone else is giving $100,000?' "

"These super PACs are definitely changing the dynamic," he said.

The concentration of huge campaign sums in a handful of super PACs is fast remaking the White House race, as campaigns grow increasingly dependent on donations from a wealthy few to fuel their political ambitions. Super PACs and other outside groups that can raise unlimited sums from corporations, individuals and unions, have swiftly amassed nearly $300 million for the 2016 White House battle, outpacing the amounts collected by candidates themselves.

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A USA TODAY analysis shows donations of $1 million or more account for nearly half of the money channeled into candidate-aligned super PACs and other outside groups during the first six months of the election cycle.

Miguel "Mike" Fernandez, a Miami-area billionaire who has invested in health care companies, emerged in recent weeks as the single-largest donor to Right to Rise USA, a super PAC supporting former Florida governor Jeb Bush's presidential bid.

The Cuban-born Fernandez, who arrived in the United States in the 1960s as a child, casts his $3 million donation as his patriotic responsibility to a country that provided his family refuge and allowed him to thrive in business.

"I expect nothing out of my contribution," he said during a phone interview from his vacation home in the Bahamas. He said his goal is to boost Bush, whom he described as a "wonky executive" capable of working across the party lines to make strides on issues such as improving public schools.

"He's not going to dazzle you with his ability to speak publicly, but you've got to look beyond that," Fernandez said.

In the end, Fernandez said he may contribute "double or three times" what he's already given to the Bush super PAC. Even so, he said, "I probably won't be in the top 25" of 2016 donors.

He's probably right.

Robert Mercer, a publicity-averse hedge-funder from New York, already has contributed $11 million to a super PAC backing Texas Sen. Ted Cruz's bid for the GOP nomination. Two other billionaires — energy executive Kelcy Warren and IT tycoon Darwin Deason — have donated $6 million and $5 million, respectively, to super PACs backing former Texas governor Rick Perry's White House candidacy.

Those super PACs now are providing a lifeline to his struggling campaign. Perry's cash-strapped operation stopped paying staff earlier this month, and the super PACs supporting his bid have stepped in to boost his chances. The groups are building field operations in Iowa and could expand their voter outreach to New Hampshire and South Carolina.

Brian Ballard, a Florida lobbyist who is raising money for both Bush's super PAC and his campaign, said "the ability of billionaires to write huge checks does chill an already difficult" process.

But he called it "the new reality, whether you like it or don't like it."

Ballard said Bush's super PAC, which has collected $103 million, has something his rivals lack — a broad base of support to sustain his candidacy in the long run. About 27% of Right to Rise's funds came from donors who gave $1 million or more, compared with more than 85% of the donations to the pro-Perry super PACs, USA TODAY's tally shows.

"I don't think voters will like one or two people controlling the financing of a presidential campaign," Ballard said. "If there's just one sugar daddy behind a candidate, I can't imagine that person being elected."

Austin Barbour, a top adviser to the pro-Perry super PACs, said the reliance on wealthy donors might bother a tiny fraction of voters but most are focused on "whether the candidates are genuine, what their records are and what they are saying about the future."

Despite the growing influence of billionaires, fundraisers on both sides of the political spectrum also insist that smaller donors and the traditional bundlers who secure contributions from friends, relatives and business associates remain essential to building a campaign's infrastructure.

"The guy who writes the $500 check is an investor in a campaign, and he wants to do everything he can do to protect that investment," said Barry Wynn, a former chairman of the South Carolina Republican Party who is backing Bush. "They will go to church, cocktail parties, the YMCA, their bridge clubs, and they are not going to be shy about promoting their candidate."

Marsha Laufer, a retired speech therapist and longtime Democratic donor said: "There is only so much that money can do."

"It comes down to the candidate's message and the recruitment of volunteers," said Laufer, who plans to host a fundraiser for Democratic presidential contender Hillary Clinton next year. "The most effective vote-getter is person-to-person contact."

Even some early super PAC donors of the 2016 campaign say there are limits on how much they want to or can afford to give to the outside groups clamoring for big donations.

Elloine Clark, a Dallas philanthropist who has contributed more than $1.5 million to Republican candidates and committees since 2002, has spread her donations among several politicians and their super PACs so far this year.

Her largest checks, totaling $100,000, have gone to a super PAC supporting presidential hopeful Carly Fiorina, records show. She also has backed Cruz and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal and said she might help former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker in the future, too. "I like all the candidates to a degree," she said.

Clark said she likely will focus on contributing directly to the politicians she supports rather than filling up super PACs' bank accounts.

"I want my candidate to get the money," she said. Plus, she added, "I'm not that wealthy. The price of oil is down."

Contributing: Christopher Schnaars