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Anthony Scaramucci and a GOP megadonor who paid for luxury trips for Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas are among the donors to the super PAC supporting former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s 2024 presidential bid.
The Tell It Like It Is PAC reported receiving nearly $5.9 million in the first half of 2023, according to a report it filed Monday with Federal Election Commission. Monday marks the deadline for political committees to file financial reports covering the first half of the year.
The Christie-aligned PAC only reported receiving contributions between May 30 and June 30 in this filing. Christie formally announced his presidential campaign on June 6.
Harlan Crow, a Republican real estate magnate, contributed $100,000 to Christie’s PAC. Crow has made headlines recently for providing luxury travel for and engaging in private real-estate deals with Thomas.
Another noteworthy donor is Scaramucci, who served briefly as Trump’s White House communications director. He also donated $100,000 to the pro-Christie PAC, the new filing shows.
Super PACs can accept donations of any size from a wide array of sources, including corporations, but are barred from coordinating their spending decisions with the candidates they back.
The single largest donation was $1 million from a limited liability company called SHBT LLC that was established last year in Texas. A spokesman for Christie’s super PAC did not immediately respond to a request for more information about the donor.
Two of the PAC’s largest donors are Richard Saker, the CEO of ShopRite supermarkets in New Jersey, and Walter Buckley Jr., a political megadonor. The two donors each gave $500,000.
Billionaire Jeff Yass, the cofounder of one of Wall Street’s largest trading firms and TikTok investor, gave the pro-Christie PAC $250,000. Yass also donated $10 million in June to the political committee associated with the anti-tax Club for Growth. An arm of the Club has blistered former President Donald Trump with attack ads.
Another notable donor is Murray Kushner, the uncle of Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner. He has donated to Christie’s campaigns before and he’s contributed to several Democrats. In this round, Murray Kushner gave the pro-Christie PAC $10,000.
The presidential hopeful has a long history with the Kushner family. In the early 2000s, Christie prosecuted Charles Kushner – Jared Kushner’s father and Murray Kushner’s brother. Charles and Murray Kushner have feuded over business and are reportedly estranged.
Charles Kushner went on to spend more than a year in prison. Trump pardoned Charles Kushner in December 2020.
The super PAC spent less than half a million dollars – nearly $430,000 – in its month of reported expenses and ended the first half of the year with nearly $5.5 million in available cash.
Rich Arkansans donate to Hutchinson-aligned PAC
Wealthy Arkansans – including several Walmart heirs and the head of Tysons Foods – stepped up to fund the super PAC supporting former Gov. Asa Hutchinson’s longshot bid for the Republican presidential nomination, according to a new FEC filing.
America Strong and Free Action Inc. brought in a little less than $2.3 million in the first half of 2023, and spent a little more than $1.3 million in the same time frame, according to the filing. The super PAC ended the first half of the year with less than $950,000 on hand.
The single largest donor to the pro-Hutchinson PAC was Little Rock, Arkansas, businessman Warren Stephens, who contributed $1 million. Stephens is the CEO of a financial services firm in Arkansas and served on an “innovation council” Hutchinson created when he was governor.
Stephens has participated in national politics for years. He initially opposed Trump’s 2016 White House bid, but in September 2020, donated $2 million to a super PAC that worked to reelect Trump.
Hutchinson’s PAC also received $350,000 from John Tyson – the chairman of Tyson Foods Inc., one of the nation’s largest meat sellers.
Several members of the Walton family – the family that owns the largest share of Walmart – contributed to the Hutchinson PAC. Four Waltons – Alice, Jim, Steuart and Thomas – donated a combined $350,000 to America Strong and Free Action, the report shows.
Pro-Pence PAC raises $2.7 million
Committed to America PAC, the super PAC backing former Vice President Mike Pence’s presidential bid, raised just $2.7 million in the first six months of 2023, and spent less than $910,000, according to a new filing with the Federal Election Commission.
The pro-Pence PAC didn’t have a single seven-figure donation with the highest single contribution coming from Ronald Cameron, an Arkansas businessman who donated $500,000.
Cameron has contributed millions of dollars to Republican candidates and super PACs over the years including $1.5 million in combined contributions between 2019 and 2020 to a super PAC that backed former President Donald Trump’s reelection.
Committed to America PAC also received a $100,000 contribution from Stephens, the Arkansas businessman.
The PAC garnered several $100,000 donations including from Indiana-based contributors like Charlotte Lucas, the executive vice president of Lucas Oil Products Inc., and Billy Bean, the owner of a real estate brokerage company.
One of the group’s largest donations came from another PAC, the Founding Principles PAC, which is headquartered in Anderson, Indiana. The PAC gave $400,000 to the Pence-aligned group.
This story has been updated with additional reporting.
CNN’s Fredreka Schouten contributed to this story.
