The Power of the Super-PAC Wanes as Trump Prepares for Iowa Test
Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally at Dubuque Regional Airport in Dubuque, Iowa, on Jan. 30, 2016.
Photographer: Andrew Harrer/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
With billionaire Donald Trump sitting firmly atop the Republican field, the willingness of big establishment donors to underwrite his competitors’ war chests has fizzled.
About 17 donors gave $1 million or more to groups backing Republican presidential candidates in the last six months of 2015, 60 percent fewer than the number who gave that much in the first half of the year, according to Federal Election Commission filings. And outside groups that can accept unlimited contributions accounted for about 27 percent of Republican fundraising in the second half, down from 78 percent.