Likely White House contenders to speak at Koch meeting

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, is one of four possible White House contenders who will speak at a closed-door gathering of a group affiliated with Charles Koch and David Koch. (Richard Ellis, Getty Images)

This post has been updated

The first Republican presidential debates are months away

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas, Rand Paul of Kentucky and Marco Rubio of Florida will address the invitation-only winter meeting of Freedom Partners Chamber of Commerce in Palm Springs, Calif. All three senators will appear at a forum Sunday to discuss domestic policy, including energy and health care issues. The panel will be moderated by journalist Jonathan Karl of ABC News, Freedom Partners announced Thursday.

Former Florida governor Jeb Bush also was invited but will not attend because of a scheduling conflict. (Bush has a high-profile meeting of his own this week: a face-to-face with Mitt Romney, the GOP’s 2012 White House nominee who is mulling a third presidential bid.)

MORE:Jeb Bush and Mitt Romney will meet in Utah

Freedom Partners Chamber of Commerce is an umbrella organization for groups tied to billionaire industrialists Charles and David Koch. The organization has more than 200 “members,” as it describes its wealthy, dues-paying donors — many of whom are not tied to the Republican Party’s establishment. The meeting opens Friday.

The Koch network is sprawling. In 2012 alone, Freedom Partners spent nearly $240 million.

Freedom Partners and another Koch-affiliated group, Americans for Prosperity, recently outlined their priorities