Former first lady Barbara Bush began adding campaign donors to the family’s Christmas card list five decades ago, building an index-card file of well-heeled contributors who went on to serve as ambassadors, cabinet members and State Department advisers in the two Bush administrations.
Jeb Bush, who opened the door to a presidential campaign five months ago, is now reaping a record-setting haul thanks to a donor network that stretches back to his father’s election to Congress in 1966.
“The Bush family gave us the chance to serve,” said donor David D. Aufhauser, who worked as general counsel for the Treasury Department under former President George W. Bush. “So we are loyal.”
Mr. Aufhauser and his wife, who worked at the Commerce Department, were among the hosts of a fundraiser earlier this year for Mr. Bush’s Right to Rise super PAC.
This ready-made fundraising operation offers Mr. Bush a financial and organizational advantage in what is expected to be a crowded and costly Republican Party primary. At the same, it yokes him even closer to a political dynasty that is already emerging as a target for such rivals as Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, who pitch themselves as the next generation of American leader.
The Bush circle includes the family of Home Depot founder Bernie Marcus, which has given more than $1 million to the campaigns and political committees operating during Bush presidencies and governorships, according to the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics and the National Institute on Money in State Politics; the family of private-equity firm KKR co-founder Henry Kravis gave nearly $600,000; and the family of Richard Kinder, the co-founder of energy company Kinder Morgan, gave more than $800,000.
Brad Freeman, chairman of a California private-equity firm, said he retired from fundraising after raising millions of dollars for George W. Bush’s 2004 re-election. But when Jeb Bush signaled his interest, Mr. Freeman said, “I had no choice. I strapped on the guns one more time.”
Asked about the money he is receiving from supporters and former staffers of his father and brother, a spokeswoman for Mr. Bush said: “Governor Bush is heartened by the broad range of Republicans and individuals encouraging him to run for President.”
Democrat Hillary Clinton is the one presidential candidate expected to match or surpass Mr. Bush’s fundraising. She can turn to donors from her husband’s two presidential campaigns and her own 2008 bid. In addition, she stands to inherit much of President Barack Obama’s fundraising network.
Mr. Bush, the former governor of Florida, recently told donors in Miami Beach that he raised more money in his first 100 days as a potential candidate than any previous Republican contender. (His brother set the previous record by collecting $37 million in the first few months of 1999.) The tally is widely expected to exceed $100 million, though details won’t be disclosed until Mr. Bush’s super PAC, Right to Rise, files a report by July 31 with the Federal Election Commission.
The Wall Street Journal identified 326 donors who hosted fundraisers this year for Mr. Bush’s super PAC, based on invitations and news reports compiled by the Sunlight Foundation, a nonpartisan government watchdog.
One in five were either members of the “Team 100,” those who raised at least $100,000 for the Republican National Committee duringGeorge H.W. Bush’s 1988 presidential campaign—or “Pioneers” or “Rangers,” who collected at least $100,000 or $200,000 for George W. Bush’s national campaigns.
Nearly a quarter worked in at least one of the Bush White Houses or received a presidential appointment; 24 were tapped by Mr. Bush’s father or brother to serve as ambassadors; 46 worked in Mr. Bush’s administration in Florida or were appointed to advisory boards. A number of donors belong to more than one of these categories.
Mr. Bush’s top allies include 11 billionaires, six former and current owners of professional sports teams and former Vice President Dan Quayle. There is an internationally competitive sailor, a former chairman of the U.S. Export-Import Bank, as well as the author of “Nice Guys Finish Rich: The Secrets of a Super Salesman.”
Mr. Bush’s Republican rivals are seeking support from a similar pool of well-heeled donors. But no one can match the deep-pocketed, multigenerational network boasted by the Bushes, many of whom have been close family friends for decades. Some paid visits to the family compound in Kennebunkport, Me., and watched the Bush children grow up.
“When you hitch your wagon to the Bushes, you become part of an extended family,” said Dirk Van Dongen, a Washington lobbyist and former Pioneer and Ranger who helped organize two fundraisers for Jeb Bush. “They remember their friends and they are good to their friends.”
William Draper, the former Export-Import Bank chairman who recently co-hosted a fundraiser for Mr. Bush in California, went to Yale with his father. Along with the annual Christmas cards from Barbara Bush, he said, “my wife gets a letter from her every few weeks.”
Some relationships mix personal, political and financial ties. Craig Stapleton, a host of the first fundraiser for Mr. Bush’s super PAC in Greenwich, Conn., for instance, received a presidential appointment from George H.W. Bush to the Peace Corps Board of Directors and co-owned the Texas Rangers baseball team with George W. Bush.
Mr. Stapleton, now a senior adviser at private-equity firm Stone Point Capital, went on to be a top fundraiser for George W. Bush’s national campaigns. After Mr. Bush was elected president, he appointed Mr. Stapleton to two ambassadorships, first to the Czech Republic, then to France. Mr. Stapleton, who is married to the cousin of the first President Bush, didn’t respond to a request for comment.
Bruce S. Gelb, former vice chairman of Bristol-Meyers Co. recently attended a Jeb Bush fundraiser in New York City. Mr. Gelb was appointed by the administration of George H.W. Bush to the U.S. Information Agency and then was offered an ambassadorship to Belgium after raising about $3 million for Mr. Bush’s campaign.
Both Democrats and Republicans have over the years embraced the tradition of rewarding donors with such coveted posts. “I didn’t realize it at the time there was some cachet of being ambassador,” said Mr. Gelb, a boarding-school classmate of Mr. Bush. “When you say you’ve been ambassador, people go a little bonkers.”
Mr. Gelb also was a Pioneer for George W. Bush and raised money for Jeb Bush’s, son, George P. Bush, in his 2014 campaign for Texas Land Commissioner.
Former President George W. Bush is credited with breaking ground on campaign fundraising by pushing supporters to bundle donations from their friends, family and business associates. Jeb Bush is continuing that strategy with more ambitious goals, even before an official campaign launch. Donors to his super PAC are divided among those who raise at least $500,000, $250,000, $100,000 and $50,000.
“Fundraising is to some extent a competitive sport that attracts type-A types who like to win,” Mr. Van Dongen said. “When you bring donors together, it’s like a company bringing together its top sales people—you get time with the boss, recognition in front of your peers.”
The Bush network has its limits. “All you can do is help someone get in the door,” said Lawrence E. Bathgate II, a longtime Bush family supporter. “But once the door is open, they have to sell themselves. That’s what’s confronting Jeb Bush.”
Source: Wall Street Journal
