Street Cash Race

Bush and Rubio race for Wall Street cash

The Florida rivals have dueling fundraisers in New York next month as they court elite GOP donors.

By Ben White

Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio are headed for a smackdown on Wall Street.

The former Florida governor and current Florida senator have dueling fundraisers set for the week of Oct. 12 with top financial industry executives in New York as Bush looks to maintain his dominance in the industry despite low poll numbers and Rubio hopes to capitalize on recent momentum to make his case to the deep-pocketed Republican establishment.

The invite to Bush’s breakfast event on Oct. 16— one of several he will hold that day — features a daunting array of 68 top Wall Street names including Jets owner Woody Johnson, attorney Larry Bathgate, Barclays executive Patrick Durkin and Highbridge Capital’s Scott Kapnick.

The minimum donation to attend the event is $2,700. Those who commit to contribute and raise $27,000 get a photo opportunity with Bush in addition to the breakfast, which will take place at the Hilton Hotel on Sixth Avenue. Bush supporters say the list reflects the former governor’s dominant position among the financial elite.

“This is the varsity squad,” one donor quipped. “I’m not sure Rubio’s would even qualify as the junior varsity.”

Rubio’s invite features 20 people,including younger and less well-known but rising figures such as Courtney Geduldig, a former Senate Banking staffer now at McGraw Hill Financial. The event, which requires a minimum $1,000 donation and $2,700 to serve as a “host,” will take place at 6 p.m. Oct. 14 at the Fifth Avenue offices of Phil Rosen, a co-chair of law firm Weil Gotshal’s real estate practice and a close associate of billionaire GOP mega-donor Sheldon Adelson. The event invite also features Wayne Berman, a top D.C.-based executive at private equity firm Blackstone Group, who was an early Rubio backer. Jewish Insider first reported on the Rubio invite on Sunday.

But the battle for New York won’t wait until October.

Bush is also in New York this week,with meetings set for Thursday with potential financial industry leaders not currently aligned with any campaign. One meeting will take place Thursday morning in Woody Johnson’s office and is intended to bring on board top financiers not already aligned with Bush’s campaign.

This group includes Paul Singer of hedge fund Elliott Management, perhaps the most sought-after uncommitted Wall Street executive. Singer has been invited to the breakfast, but people familiar with the matter said the hedge fund manager had not committed to attending.

Other invitees to the Bush event include prominent activist investor Dan Loeb of Third Point Partners and longtime GOP fundraiser Georgette Mosbacher, people familiar with the matter said. One source familiar with the matter said Loeb had already committed to backing Bush. A spokesperson for Loeb did not immediately return a call for comment.

Bush’s campaign on Tuesday also rolled out an endorsement from hedge fund manager Anthony Scaramucci of SkyBridge Capital, who previously backed the campaign of Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker.

In an interview, Scaramucci, a regular presence on financial television shows and at his prominent SALT Conference in Las Vegas, cited his close ties to former President George W. Bush and others in the family’s orbit for his decision to back the former Florida governor.

“I have nothing against Marco Rubio. I just think Gov. Bush has the experience and a great record as an executive,” Scaramucci said. “It’s not Rubio’s time. This is like surfing and it’s Jeb’s wave to surf. It’s been a little shaky because of Donald Trump and the rest of the outsiders, but I do not believe the GOP is going to select a nominee for the most important political job in the world who doesn’t have political experience.”

A spokesman for Rubio did not immediately respond to email messages for comment. The Florida senator is enjoying increased popularity following two strong debate performances and is looking to turn that momentum into a stronger fundraising performance.

People close to Rubio say rolling out the Scaramucci endorsement is an indication that the Bush campaign is worried about Rubio’s momentum and appeal to wealthy, establishment donors who want to back a winner who is gaining ground in the polls. They also note that the Bush team is worried about other former Walker supporters and staffers moving to Rubio's campaign. A Bush spokesman declined to comment.

Both Bush and Rubio appeal to elite GOP donors who are terrified of Trump’s impact on the party, especially among women and Latino voters. The assumption that supporters of both candidates make is that Trump will eventually fade and the party will turn to the set of more traditional candidates to select a nominee, rather than move to retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson or former Hewlett-Packard chief executive Carly Fiorina, who currently lead both Bush and Rubio in most polls.

The Bush campaign has moved in recent days to calm donors dismayed at the former governor’s weak poll numbers. Top bundlers were recently called to Miami to make last-minute fundraising calls ahead of Wednesday’s end to the third-quarter filing period. Bush’s array of fundraising vehicles, including the Right to Rise super PAC, hauled in a record $103 million through the first six months of the year, blowing away all the other candidates in the field.

But donors do not expect anywhere close to those kind of numbers for the third quarter, as Bush is now more focused on smaller-dollar donations for his campaign, which are capped at $2,700 per donor. “No one is talking about ‘shock and awe’ for the third quarter,” one Bush bundler said.

Another Wall Street donor said that while none of Bush’s financial industry supporters are “jumping ship,” they are concerned about Rubio’s rise in the polls and Bush’s stagnation at around 7 percent. “It’s way too early to panic,but Rubio is a very, very legitimate candidate,” this donor said.