Today is the latest deadline for campaigns and committees to disclose donors, offering a glimpse at who is putting up huge sums in the 2024 elections, which may end up being the most expensive ever.
According to the latest filings with the Federal Election Commission, Jeffrey Katzenberg, who is campaign co-chair of Joe Biden‘s campaign, contributed $1 million to the FF PAC, which is short for Future Forward, the main independent entity backing the president’s re-election bid. Future Forward made news this week when it announced plans to spend $250 million in an advertising blitz in battleground states.
Also contributing to FF PAC was Sheryl Sandberg, the former Meta exective who recently announced that she was leaving the tech giant’s board. According to FEC records, she contributed $500,059 in December to Future Forward via an in-kind donation of stock. Other donors to Future Forward include Golden Eagle Acquisition’s Harry Sloan, who gave $100,000, and Los Angeles developer developer Jeff Worthe, who gave $1,000,000.
Weeks before Biden made his first trek to Los Angeles for a fund-raising swing, Steven Spielberg and Kate Capshaw each gave the maximum $929,600 to the Biden Victory Fund, the joint committee raising money for the Biden campaign, the Democratic National Committees and state parties. Also making recent contributions: J.J. Abrams and Katie McGrath, who each gave $500,000; Greg Berlanti, who gave $250,000; Chris Meladandri, who gave $250,000; Skip Paul, who gave $250,000; and developer Rick Caruso, Jim Gianopulos, Shonda Rhimes, attorney Ted Boutrous and Bryan Lourd, who each gave $100,000. Haim Saban and Casey Wasserman each gave the $929,600 maximum contributions last fall.
One of the main super PACs supporting former President Donald Trump, MAGA Inc., received $5.25 million in contributions from Linda McMahon, the former Small Business Administration administrator and former president and CEO of WWE, and $1 million from Los Angeles developer Geoff Palmer.
High dollar donors also have set their sights on the race for the Senate. In October, Rupert Murdoch contributed $2 million to the Senate Leadership Fund, the super PAC led by Mitch McConnell to try to retake the upper chamber. (Hat tip: Puck News). The Democrats’ counterpart, the Senate Majority PAC, received contributions from Abrams and McGrath, who each gave $125,000. Spielberg and Capshaw each made two separate contributions of $125,000 to the super PAC in August, according to FEC records.
A super PAC backing Nikki Haley‘s bid for the Republican presidential nomination, SFA Fund, received contributions of $105,000 from Sloan and $100,000 from Judith Sheindlin. The latter donor, known as Judge Judy, appeared with Haley at a New Hampshire campaign event two nights before the primary.
A super PAC supporting Chris Christie’s now-ended presidential race, meanwhile, drew a $200,000 contribution from Tyler Perry, a $46,700 contribution from Barry Diller, and a $100,000 contribution from attorney Dan Webb, who represented Fox in the Dominion Voting Systems litigation. Christie dropped out of the race earlier this month.
More to come.
