Bring it!
About a quarter of the 450 donors who attended a swanky Koch brother donor gathering in Orange County, California, last weekend threw their support behind Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker in an informal straw poll,
reports Kenneth Vogel.
In a closed-door session that included about 100 donors, Republican pollster Frank Luntz asked donors to clap to indicate their choice for the Republican Party’s nomination. While Luntz did not formally track or announce the results, sources say it was clear that Walker got the most applause, followed by former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, who received roughly the same amount of applause. The next most applause was for former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina.
Most of the remaining candidates received only a smattering of applause, though one source confirmed that not a single donor clapped for South Carolina Sen. Lindsay Graham or former New York Gov. George Pataki. Luntz even made a joke about how quiet the room was.
Ouch! Salt in the wound—breaking up that awkward no-support silence with a joke.
Anyway, let's remember that The Donald likely wasn't invited, so no comparison to be had there. But my oh my, how Walker has cut into Ted Cruz's game. Where this probably helps Walker the most is with fundraising—while his Super PAC took in a respectable $20 million, that number pales next to Jeb!'s $100 million haul, for instance.
Also, if there's any question about whether these donors impact the candidates' positions, here's a window into the type of pressure they feel at these events.
Walker did raise some eyebrows with his answer to a question from Allen about the Wisconsin governor’s support for $250 million in taxpayer money for a new arena for the NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks — a stance anathema to the Kochs’ opposition to government intervention in the free market.
Walker argued that the Bucks provide a major economic benefit in tax revenue for Wisconsin. “If they leave, I lose that,” he said — an answer that did not seem to placate some in attendance.