Some of the biggest whales among Democratic donors -- millionaires like Orlando's John Morgan -- say they need a break after Hillary Clinton's loss. A long break. Nearly a month after Donald Trump's shocking upset, they still "feel like they just set their money on fire."

The Hill newspaper claims some top donors may never return to the fold. They invested to the tune of $550 million believing Clinton would dispatch Donald Trump and deliver a Democratic congress. Now they see the 2016 election losses up and down the ballot as dysfunction in the Democratic National Committee, which won't elect a new leader until February.

Making matters worse, the names of many donors were released in the WikiLeaks hack of Democratic emails. "It was a mortifying development that has rattled some of the party’s big-money men and women," said writer Jonathan Easley.

"I may very well be done with political giving entirely," said super-donor attorney Morgan, one of Clinton's top fundraisers in Florida. "My message to anyone reading this is, ‘Don’t call me, I’ll call you.’ From here on out, I’m giving to charities. I’d much rather give money to build a new Boys & Girls Club than to give to the [Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee].”

Some Democratic leaders urge their prize whales not to forsake the party, that Democrats are in the throes of a full-scale and expensive rebuilding project. Sure, the party is rudderless right now, they admit, but in the spring the DNC should be humming again.

Investor Marc Nathanson, one of Clinton’s top donors and fundraisers in 2016, told The Hill he has no interest in hanging around until, participating in, the party's rebuilding efforts but would continue to give money and support to Democratic candidates in gubernatorial and mayoral races in his home state of California. Beyond that, he said, he won't lift a finger.

“The feeling I get from big donors out here in California is that they’re not only extremely disappointed, but they’re shell-shocked,” he explained. “So to turn around and say, now it’s time to rebuild the national party and the DNC, I just don’t see it.”

Many state Democratic parties have said they "left it all on the playing field," and now are operating in the red, or close to it.

"Dark money" meister David Brock, the liberal political operative whose umbrella of groups include the opposition research firm American Bridge and the watchdog group Media Matters for America, says he has the cure for donor fatigue.

He has invited 225 current donors and 175 prospective donors to a meeting in Palm Beach over Trump’s inaugural weekend, in his effort to fund a web of liberal groups he hopes will rival the Koch brothers’ network of influence on the right.

Brock is looking to super-charge his group, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, in hopes it will rival the conservative watchdog group Judicial Watch. During the presidential race, Judicial Watch was highly successful in bedeviling Clinton for her missing email, particularly in keeping it in the public eye.

Brock told Easley, "I was at Hillary Clinton’s concession speech, and there were a number of donors present. Some came up to me and said some version of, ‘We’ll continue to fight; tell us what to do.’ That has gotten me very quickly into a rebuilding mode. It was encouraging and surprising because so many were in shock. A lot still are.”

Republicans went through their donor fatigue phase after Jeb Bush (who had collected $100 million) backed out of the Republican presidential primary. GOP megadonors spent $200 million supporting their presidential candidates who didn't make it to the final three. But Real Clear Politics, among others, say ultimately, whales in the red camp recognized the importance of keeping the Senate pro-growth -- and serving as the final backstop to confirm or reject federal regulators and judges. They came back. And now Trump has "re-energized" them.

Reach Nancy Smith at nsmith@sunshinestatenews.com or at 228-282-2423. Twitter: @NancyLBSmith