http://dyn.politico.com/printstory.cfm?uuid=6C5ACEA8-A3D9-43F8-AED1-C3E578251595 Soros, Wal-Mart scion pony up for Clinton
By: Maggie Haberman and Elizabeth Titus
January 31, 2014 09:36 PM EST
A pro-Hillary Clinton super PAC named several prominent Democratic donors on Friday in its push to build support for the former secretary of state to run for president in 2016.
Wal-Mart scion Alice Walton, financiers George and Robert Soros and the law firm of liberal megadonors Steve and Amber Mostyn all cut $25,000 checks to Ready for Hillary last year, the super PAC said in a public filing.
The filing paints a fuller picture of the people who helped the super PAC raise more than $4 million in 2013, well ahead of a presidential race that Clinton appears to be eyeing but has not publicly committed to joining after her failed bid in 2008.
Other donors who gave the maximum $25,000 accepted by the super PAC included Bill Rudin, a Clinton bundler in 2008; Eleni Tsakopoulos Kounalakis, a former U.S. ambassador to Hungary under Clinton; and Jon Stryker, a billionaire philanthropist.
Silda Wall, an investor who recently filed for divorce with former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer, also made a contribution. So did Lynn Cutler, Ann Lewis and Lanny Davis, former aides in the Bill Clinton White House; Terry Shumaker, a New Hampshire operative; and the campaign of New York Rep. Carolyn Maloney.
“Homeland” producer Howard Gordon, financier Thomas Lee, psychologist Gail Furman and longtime Democratic donor Elaine Schuster also chipped in.
Ready for Hillary is taking on a grassroots and data-gathering role in anticipation of a possible Clinton campaign, and recently held events and meetings in Iowa, New Hampshire and Pennsylvania, three key presidential election states.
Officials have said their goal has not been to hoard cash, but to reinvest it in their donor and supporter lists.
The super PAC raised $2.75 million from July to December and spent almost an equal amount, ending the cycle near the cash-on-hand total from the beginning of the cycle: $784,640.
Another super PAC, Priorities USA, appears poised to focus on big donors after doing similar work in support of President Barack Obama in 2012.
