Finance sector executives in the second quarter steered large campaign donations to 2024 Republican primary opponents of former President Donald Trump, records show.
Trump's campaign and political action committee managed to raise over $35 million from April to June, a reflection of the former president's grip on the Republican Party that is translating to an early financial windfall. Ahead of the first debate in August, Wall Street executives have given legal maximum donations of either $6,600 for the entire election cycle or $3,300 for the primary into the campaign coffers for GOP White House hopefuls other than Trump, according to Federal Election Commission filings.
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The contributions, which were publicized recently, are a glimpse into how wealthy right-leaning figures are still evaluating which candidate they will rally behind to help elevate instead of the former president. Trump is garnering almost 54% support for the Republican nomination, with Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) receiving about 20%, ex-Vice President Mike Pence at 6%, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy at 4.5%, ex-U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley at 3.3%, and Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) at 3%, according to Monday's RealClearPolitics polling average.
Several Trump challengers benefited from the influence of Wall Street during quarter two, a hardly new phenomenon after the industry contributed only about $18 million to the former president in 2020, while Wall Street leaders boosted Joe Biden to the tune of more than $74 million to help catapult him to the presidency, according to a review by OpenSecrets, a campaign finance tracker.
The campaign for DeSantis, which reportedly let go fewer than 10 staffers on Thursday amid scrutiny over fundraising troubles, notably took $6,600 from Paul Tudor Jones, filings show. Tudor Jones, a billionaire hedge fund manager who also contributed $6,600 in the second quarter to ex-New Jersey Gov. and long-shot Republican candidate Chris Christie's campaign, was a notable supporter of Sen. Mitt Romney's (R-UT) failed presidential campaign in 2012 against President Barack Obama.
A spokesman for Tudor Jones declined to comment on the donation.
DeSantis in the second quarter received $3,300 from venture capitalist Joe Lonsdale and $3,300 from Goldman Sachs Vice President Justin Siegel, according to filings. He also received donations from Texas billionaire Harlan Crow and shipping magnate Richard Uihlein as part of his $20 million second-quarter haul.
"The generous support we received this quarter will be critical as we continue to capitalize on the momentum shift that occurred in Iowa this week and deploy the Full Grassley," DeSantis campaign manager Generra Peck said in a statement in reference to Sen. Chuck Grassley's (R-IA) yearly tradition of visiting all 99 Iowa counties. "Americans across the country are about to see a whole lot more of Ron DeSantis. Get ready.”
One source close to Trump's campaign said it's as if big donors "have lost faith" in the ability of DeSantis to make the primary a two-man race, pointing to how Wall Street is not solely backing DeSantis in terms of Trump alternatives. A second source close to the former president told the Washington Examiner that Trump has a donor base that will "give him the ability to go the distance."
"They won’t be tapped out early," the second source said. "Some of these big dollar donors might have backed the other candidates because of their personal hatred of Trump, but they aren’t dumb. They know these other campaigns are futile efforts. I don’t expect the dollars to keep pouring in."
In total, at least 15 notable finance leaders backed DeSantis in the second quarter, NBC News reported.
Ramaswamy, who has taken a hard line stance against corporations maintaining "woke" environmental, social, and governance strategies, reportedly took donations from at least a dozen finance sector leaders.
One $3,300 donor to Ramaswamy was Bill Ackman, CEO of the hedge fund Pershing Square Capital, while Ed Hyman, chairman of the investment banking company Evercore ISI, also contributed $3,300, according to filings. Glenn Dubin, the billionaire hedge fund manager, joined his wife Eva Andersson-Dubin in contributing $6,600 each to boost Ramaswamy.
Ramaswamy, in total, hauled in about $7.7 million in quarter two, according to filings. This number accounts for a $5 million personal loan to his campaign.
"Vivek has north of 65K donors, 40% of whom have never donated to a Republican candidate or any political candidate at all," Tricia McLaughlin, a spokeswoman for the Ramaswamy campaign, wrote in a message to the Washington Examiner. "That’s staggering compared to just 2-5% first time donors for new politicians. This is a grassroots campaign — Vivek is not beholden to the donor class to fund his campaign."
Haley also benefited from Wall Street cash during quarter two, taking in a dozen donations from finance executives. Two such finance leaders who boosted the former U.N. ambassador were Cliff Asness, co-founder of the AQR Capital Management investment firm, and Tim Draper, a veteran venture capitalist, according to records. Asness is worth $1.6 billion, according to Forbes.
"I look for people who can lead large teams of people with courage, openness, and good character," Draper told the Washington Examiner. "Nikki Haley is all of these. She will be an extraordinary president. I saw the courage when she supported capitalism when the media was starting to encourage socialism. She showed real backbone there, willing to go against the trend."
The venture capitalist added, "I see the openness when she talks about how she is pro-life, but she knows that it is a personal decision and should not be made for everyone by any president." Haley is "the only candidate I support," Draper noted, describing how the former governor is "kind, thoughtful, highly intelligent, and fulfills her promises."
Haley's quarter two haul came to more than $7 million, according to filings. Ken Farnaso, a spokesman for Haley, said the campaign "is being fiscally responsible and strategic with our spending."
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"As Nikki campaigns, voters are rallying to her vision for a proud and strong America," Farnaso told the Washington Examiner. "They are tired of the weakness in the White House and want a tough leader who will stand up to China, secure our border, and gut Washington."
Other notable finance world 2024 donors in quarter two included Blackstone CEO Stephen A. Schwarzman and Goldman Sachs CEO David M. Solomon, who both donated to the campaign for Scott. The South Carolina Republican raised $6 million.