A dozen donors account for bulk of 'super PAC' money

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WASHINGTON  A dozen wealthy individuals and corporations — ranging from a Hollywood mogul to Texas billionaires — gave more than half the money flowing to the biggest outside groups raising unlimited amounts to influence next year's presidential and congressional races, a USA TODAY analysis shows.

Republican-affiliated groups outraised Democratic groups by more than 2-to-1, the review found, demonstrating the willingness of Republican donors to write big checks to deny President Obama a second term. Overall, seven major groups took in $23.7 million during the first half of the year, with a combined $12.1 million coming from just 12 people and companies.

DreamWorks CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg led the way among Democrats, giving $2 million in May to Priorities USA Action, a group run by former Obama aides.

The unrestricted giving to outside groups, known as "super PACs," underscores how recent court rulings allowing corporations and unions to spend unlimited amounts to elect or defeat candidates could shape the 2012 elections. The super PACs must operate independently of candidates.

Presidential candidates cannot collect more than $2,500 from an individual for a primary or general election, yet allies of Republican Mitt Romney collected four checks of $1 million each this year for Restore Our Future, a super PAC created to help Romney win the presidency. Overall, the group has raised $12.3 million, dwarfing what Romney's rivals collected for their official campaign committees, Federal Election Commission records show.

"The super PACs are for the wealthy, by the wealthy and of the wealthy," said Meredith McGehee of the Campaign Legal Center, a watchdog group. "You're setting up a dynamic where the candidates could become bit players in their own campaigns," particularly in less-expensive races for the House of Representatives, she said.

In an e-mail, Katzenberg said outside Repub lican spending in 2010 led to the election of "Republican extremists" who he said took the nation to the edge of default in the recent debt-ceiling showdown. "The stakes are too high for us to simply allow the extremism of a small but well-funded right wing minority to go unchallenged," he said.

Million-dollar donors to PACs include New York hedge-fund manager John Paulson, who gave to Restore Our Future. Eli Publishing and F8 LLC, two companies that share an address in Provo, Utah, donated $1 million each to the group backing Romney, who has extensive ties to the state.

Utah records list Steven Lund, who is an executive with a Provo-based anti-aging company Nu Skin Enterprises, as the registered agent for Eli Publishing.

Paulson and Lund declined to comment.

Restore Our Future's treasurer, Charles Spies, who served as Romney's general counsel during the 2008 presidential campaign, declined to discuss contributors. In a statement, he said, "Donors recognize Mitt Romney is the most experienced and qualified candidate to challenge President Obama's record of out-of-control, big government spending."

Supporters of Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who is weighing entering the Republican race, collected $193,000 through a group named Americans for Rick Perry. The top donor: Texas billionaire Harold Simmons, who gave $100,000 on June 27, 10 days after Perry signed legislation allowing Simmons' company to accept low-level radioactive waste from other states at its West Texas facility.

Perry spokesman Mark Miner said, "There's no coordination whatsoever between us and any other third-party group that's supporting the governor," he said. Furthermore, Perry has "made no decision on whether he's going to run or not."

Simmons declined an interview request.

In the 2004 presidential campaign, Simmons helped bankroll Swift Boat Veterans for Truth ads that challenged Democratic nominee John Kerry's record during the Vietnam War. Other Swift Boat donors giving to super PACs this year include Texas homebuilder Bob Perry, who gave $500,000 each to American Crossroads, a Republican group started last year, and Restore Our Future.

The donations to super PACs reveal just part of the outside money in play in next year's elections. For instance, American Crossroads, started with help from President George W. Bush's political strategist Karl Rove, and Priorities USA, co-founded by former Obama spokesman Bill Burton, each have partner organizations that don't have to reveal their donors.

American Crossroads reported raising $3.9 million during the first six months of the year, but the separate arm that doesn't have to reveal its donors, Crossroads GPS, already has spent $19 million on advertising assailing Democrats ahead of the 2012 congressional races.

Brent Jones. For publication consideration in the newspaper, send comments to For more information about reprints & permissions , visit our FAQ's. To report corrections and clarifications, contact Standards Editor. For publication consideration in the newspaper, send comments to letters@usatoday.com . Include name, phone number, city and state for verification. To view our corrections, go to corrections.usatoday.com