GOP’s big donors rally to help Jeb Bush
Corrections and clarifications: An earlier version of this story listed the incorrect amount raised by the donors who contributed $1 million or more each to  the super PAC supporting Jeb Bush. They donated more than $28 million.
WASHINGTON — Two dozen wealthy donors supplied more than one-quarter of the record sums amassed this year by Jeb Bush’s super PAC, as the Republican Party’s establishment figures moved quickly to bolster the former Florida governor ahead of a crowded and competitive primary fight.
The largest giver to Bush’s Right to Rise USA super PAC: Miguel “Mike†Fernandez, the billionaire chairman of a Florida private equity firm that invests in health care companies. Fernandez, who raised money for Mitt Romney’s unsuccessful 2012 White House bid, donated more than $3 million to the Bush super PAC.
In all, more than 20 people or their companies made seven-figure contributions to the super PAC totaling more than $28 million during the first six months of the year. Several also had collected money for Romney. Rooney Holdings Inc., a Tulsa-based company controlled by construction magnate Francis Rooney, donated more than $2 million. Rooney, a veteran Republican fundraiser, won an appointment as U.S. ambassador to the Vatican from President George W. Bush.
Jeb Bush, the son and brother of presidents, has set a blistering fundraising pace, collecting $103 million for his super PAC to help ward off his rivals in a nomination fight that includes 17 major candidates. Despite Bush’s fundraising prowess, the race remains competitive with billionaire developer Donald Trump, who is self-financing his campaign, leading early polls.
Friday marked the deadline for super PACs to file their fundraising reports with the Federal Election Commission.
A super PAC supporting New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who trails in recent polls, reported raising a robust $11 million. A Nevada firm, Winecup-Gamble Inc., donated $1 million to Christie’s America Leads super PAC.
Records filed with Nevada’s Secretary of State show the firm is controlled by former Reebok CEO Paul Fireman, whose investment firm has sought to build a casino
Super PACs can raise unlimited sums from corporations, individuals and unions but must operate independently of their favored candidates, who face a $2,700-per-person limit on donations for the primary election.
Many of Bush’s supporters tapped their corporate accounts to write checks to his super PAC. More than $17 million of Bush’s haul came from more than 500 companies or organizations. American Pacific International Capital Inc., a San Francisco-based holding company that owns and operates hotels in the U.S. and China, contributed $1.3 million. Bush’s brother Neil serves on its board of directors, according to the company’s website.
Bush, who waited until June to declare his candidacy, spent much of the winter and spring raising money for the super PAC, prompting campaign watchdog groups to complain to the U.S. Justice Department that Right to Rise is an arm of his campaign in violation of Federal Election Commission (FEC) rules.
On Friday, several left-leaning watchdog groups protested outside the PAC’s Washington offices. “With the two entities functionally working together, corruption is alive and well in this presidential campaign,†Keith Ivey, chairman of DC for Democracy, said in a statement.
Bush’s allies deny any improper coordination.
“Right to Rise takes a conservative approach to FEC rules and we are in full compliance with all applicable laws and regulations,” the super PAC’s spokesman Paul Lindsay said in an email Friday. “Our expenditures for six months of Right to Rise fundraising costs and fundraising events are minimal given the scale of our support from donors who have been drawn to Governor Bush’s conservative record of reform.”
In all, the PAC has spent $5.4 million and entered July with nearly $98 million in cash reserves.
Right to Rise spent more than $426,000 with a California firm, Digital Core Campaign LLC, for “database management” between March 23 and June 29. Bush’s campaign paid the same firm $64,216 for “web services” at the end of June.
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