Cash Flow...

Rand Paul's money problem

Behind the Kentucky senator’s NSA ‘filibuster’ lies a desperate quest for cash.

By Alex Isenstadt

In a presidential campaign defined by billionaire sugar daddy donors, Rand Paul has a problem: He doesn’t seem to have one.

While his rivals cultivate wealthy backers who will pump millions of dollars into their candidacies, Paul has struggled to find a similar lifeline. It’s led to considerable frustration in his campaign, which, amid rising concerns that it will not be able to compete financially, finds itself leaning heavily on the network of small donors who powered his father’s insurgent White House bids.

It hasn’t been for lack of trying. In recent months, Paul has sought to woo a string of powerful Republican megadonors — from Silicon Valley executives to a Kentucky coal mogul to the billionaire Koch brothers — who, it was believed, would be philosophically aligned with his free-market views. In each case, he met disappointment.

At the top of the list was Peter Thiel, the eccentric Northern California venture capitalist who funneled $2.6 million to Ron Paul’s presidential campaign. But Thiel is being far less generous this time around, leaving Paul’s crestfallen advisers with the distinct impression that he won’t give them a dime. They’ve been left guessing as to why. One speculated that Thiel, who didn’t respond to requests for comment, was unhappy with the rollout of Paul’s policy platform. Another surmised he was skeptical of Paul’s 2016 prospects or that he’d become tired of political giving and would sit out 2016 entirely.

There was Sean Parker, the flashy Napster co-founder who was portrayed by Justin Timberlake in the hit 2010 movie “The Social Network.” But Parker, who has known Paul for several years and has met with him to discuss 2016, isn’t expected to endorse Paul — or any Republican candidate, for that matter. Those familiar with Parker’s thinking say he’s most likely to provide financial support to Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton.

There was Larry Ellison, the former Oracle CEO known for his penchant for megayachts. In October, Ellison hosted a Silicon Valley fundraiser for Senate Republicans that Paul attended — an event that led to speculation that Ellison, whose net worth is said to hover around $54 billion, would get behind the Kentucky Republican. But he’s instead thrown his support to Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and will host a fundraiser for him on June 9.

“It was love at first sight,” one person close to Ellison said of his feelings toward Rubio.

Not even two months into his presidential campaign, Paul is scrambling to compete with opponents who have established fundraising vehicles underwritten by well-heeled contributors. Jeb Bush has tapped his family’s formidable network of donors, a wide-ranging list of names that includes real estate developer Mel Sembler and Anheuser-Busch distributor John Nau, to fund a super PAC that’s expected to raise an historic $100 million by the end of this month. Rubio has won the backing of Norman Braman, a Miami auto dealer who’s expected to pour anywhere from $10 million to $25 million into his bid. Ted Cruz is expected to receive around $30 million of support from Robert Mercer, a New York hedge fund manager.

Even Rick Santorum, who barely registers in polls, is expected to have a deep-pocketed benefactor: Foster Friess, a businessman who helped keep Santorum’s 2012 presidential bid alive, has said he will donate again.

Paul is compensating by turning to his grass-roots supporters who fueled his national rise, bombarding them with pleas for cash. In recent days, many have highlighted Paul’s filibuster-style stand against the PATRIOT Act — opposition that has made him a hero to libertarians. “The clock is ticking,” read one appeal sent on Tuesday, a few days after his Senate theatrics. “I need to know you stand with me.”

The hope, those close to Paul say, is that his nationwide support from small contributors will make up for his billionaire deficit.

Sergio Gor, a spokesman for Paul’s official campaign, declined to comment on his fundraising. Jesse Benton, a spokesman for a super PAC that’s been set up to support Paul’s candidacy, America’s Liberty PAC, wouldn’t discuss the group’s fundraising or donors but said early results had shown promise, particularly in Silicon Valley, to which Paul has traveled several times and where he’s opened an office.

“Results to date have been solid and give us lots of room for optimism as we continue,” Benton said. “We also know this is a marathon, not a sprint.”

Among those involved the 2016 money sweepstakes, theories of Paul’s struggles abound. Some point to his anti-establishment posture, which has alienated some in the business community — much of whose support has gone for Bush. Others say his more dovish foreign policy stances has turned off Jewish Republicans, many of whom view him as insufficiently pro-Israel. Still others say he’s found competition from Cruz, who like Paul has branded himself as a free-market thinker.

Others contend that Paul’s unpolished style might be working against him as he seeks out the support of wealthy Republican benefactors, While attending a California donor conference sponsored by Charles and David Koch, two of the nation’s most powerful Republican donors, Paul was criticized for dressing casually in jeans, slouching in his chair and giving rambling answers to questions. One person briefed on the Kochs’ thinking said Paul’s star has faded in their eyes, and that it’s now hard to see them providing substantial financial support to the Kentucky senator.

At times, he’s seemed to be more on defense than offense. Earlier this year, Paul had a private meeting with casino mogul Sheldon Adelson, who’s given millions of dollars to pro-Israel causes. During the meeting, Adelson provided the Kentucky senator with assurances he wouldn’t spend money explicitly to defeat him.

To some, it’s not entirely surprising he’s struggling to win over the party’s donor elite. In 2010, when he upset the political world by defeating Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell’s handpicked candidate in the Kentucky Senate primary, Paul’s deepest well of support came from his party’s activist set. It’s those conservative activists, many believe, whom Paul must win over in 2016.

“The worst thing for a presidential candidate to be is something it’s not,” said Nick Everhart, a former Paul adviser who worked on his 2010 campaign. “If small donors are his place in the field, that’s got to be where he is.”

Still, at times the rejection has stung, especially when he’s tried to win over his home state’s moneyed class.

A few months ago, Paul invited Joe Craft, a Kentucky coal company executive and his fiancée, Kelly Knight, to have breakfast in the Senate dining room. But the couple, who rank among the most prominent Republican givers in the state, had bad news for Paul: They wouldn’t be getting behind his presidential bid.

In a brief interview, though, Knight recalled giving Paul a consolation prize of sorts.

The Crafts would, she told him, “strongly support him in his Senate reelection campaign.”