Handful of megadonors dominate campaign money chase

Fredreka Schouten and Christopher Schnaars, USA TODAY | USATODAY

WASHINGTON – Blame them for the wall-to-wall campaign ads.

Five individuals and couples have contributed more than $10 million each to super PACs, the new independent political groups responsible for the record amounts of outside money gushing through this year's presidential and congressional elections.

Together, these super-wealthy donors account for 20% of the $644 million raised by super PACs through Oct. 17, a USA TODAY analysis of new campaign-finance reports shows.

All but one, Chicago media executive Fred Eychaner, donated to conservative groups. Las Vegas casino magnate Sheldon Adelson and his physician wife, Miriam, surged to the top of the list early in the Republican presidential primary season and haven't turned off the spigot since, propelling them to an unprecedented $52.2 million in donations to a constellation of conservative groups.

By comparison, billionaire financier George Soros, the previous record-holder for political spending, pumped $24 million into the 2004 election in an unsuccessful attempt to oust President George W. Bush.

In the first 12 days of October alone, the Adelsons gave $15.2 million to myriad super PACs, including $10 million to Restore Our Future, the leading group backing the presidential campaign of Republican Mitt Romney. The pro-Romney super PAC has spent more than $118 million to help elect the former Massachusetts governor.

The unprecedented political giving by a handful of America's wealthiest people is a vivid example how much the nation's elections have changed after two court rulings, including the Supreme Court's milestone Citizens United decision that lifted the ban on corporate and union spending on elections, paved the way for super PACs. These political action committees, which can raise and spend unlimited amounts to influence races, have made it easier for the wealthy to pool their resources to help candidates.

Along with labor groups and a handful of corporations, dozens of wealthy individuals, some with specific grievances or policy ideas, are using super PACs to shape campaigns to a degree rarely seen in the past 35 years.

"This is a sea change," said Richard Hasen, an elections expert at the University of California-Irvine. "Even though individuals could spend their money before Citizens United, very few did, and very few did on this scale."

The USA TODAY analysis of contributions to the election's 302 active super PACs found 131 individuals or groups had donated at least $1 million each. They account for more than $6 of every $10 flowing to these super-charged political action committees since Jan. 1, 2011.

In addition, one in four super PACs had three or fewer donors, as big spenders opt to create and run their own PACs.

This month, New York City Mayor Bloomberg, the nation's 10th-richest man, joined their ranks, launching the Independence USA PAC. He has said he will spend as much as $15 million in the final weeks of the campaign to help elect moderate congressional candidates who back his views on education and gun control and to support state-level efforts to legalize gay marriage.

Adelson spokesman Ron Reese has declined USA TODAY's interview requests, but the 79-year-old billionaire has said he is willing to do "whatever it takes" to oust President Obama.

Among his top issues: the security of Israel and opposition to proposals making it easier for workers to unionize. And in an interview with Politico, he said media accounts of federal probes into his operations in Las Vegas and China are proof of administration leaks and argued an Obama second term would "lead to vilification of the people that were against him." Adelson has called the investigations unfounded.

Eychaner is the Democrats' biggest donor in this election, giving nearly $12.3 million to the liberal super PACs -- including $3.5 million to Priorities USA Action, the leading pro-Obama super PAC.

Spokesman Dave Horwich said Eychaner would not comment about his political activity.

Republican super PACs have outspent Democratic groups by more than 2-to-1.

Wealthy liberals, however, have stepped up their giving to aid Obama and other Democrats in recent months. The pro-Obama Priorities USA Action had its best monthly haul in September -- raising $15.3 million -- as former president Bill Clinton and other party leaders helped with fundraising.

Steve Mostyn, a Houston personal-injury lawyer, has donated $3 million to Priorities, and his wife and law partner, Amber, has given $1 million to a super PAC working to elect Democrats to the House of Representatives.

"We are never going to be able to match Republicans dollar-to-dollar, but I wanted to give Democrats the ability to message," Mostyn said. No doubt the money gives him better access to politicians, he said. "Anybody who gives large amounts of money probably has a louder voice than anyone else."

But he said he wants to see an end to the outside political activity. Should Democrats survive the GOP onslaught, Mostyn said it might discourage Republicans from spending heavily in future elections.

"If we win, won't they say, we gave $50 million dollars and what did it get us?"

TD Ameritrade founder J. Joe Ricketts, who is using his super PAC to campaign against Obama, believes Romney will prevail Nov. 6, says Brian Baker, the president of the the super PAC, called the Ending Spending Action Fund.

But Ricketts is unlikely to retreat if Obama wins, Baker added. "It's never been about party. It's always been about country. I'm certain Mr. Ricketts will continue to find an active role."

Ricketts, a registered independent, has pumped $12.3 million into his super PAC, making him its single largest donor. Among his efforts: Spending more than $1 million to print and distribute a MittZine, a 12-page, glossy magazine promoting Romney's candidacy. It will appear as an insert in more than 150 newspapers in five swing states: Iowa, Florida, Wisconsin, Ohio and Virginia. The goal: swaying 9.5 million to 10 million voters in the states that will decide whether Romney or Obama wins Nov. 6.

Baker says Ricketts is active in politics because he's deeply concerned about rising federal debt. "Personnel is policy," he says. "The only way we can begin to get to a balanced budget is if we can replace the president."

Hasen said it's too soon to tell if all the super PAC spending can influence general-election results, but he said it's bound to shape policy. "If you were strongly opposed to gaming practices and you wanted to sponsor legislation limiting it," he said, "you might think twice rather than incurring the wrath of Sheldon Adelson."