Charles Koch stays out of primaries

by Jonathan Swan - 11/11/15 4:30 PM ET

Billionaire mega-donor Charles Koch is staying out of the Republican presidential primaries and is unlikely to endorse any candidate before the party picks its nominee, USA Today reports.

“I have no plans to support anybody in the primary now,” the influential industrialist told the newspaper in an interview published Wednesday.

Charles and brother David are the leaders of the most powerful network of conservative donors in American politics.

The Koch political network, which meets twice a year at hotel retreats to discuss its political goals, plans to spend $889 million on various conservative and libertarian activities during the 2016 election cycle. About $250 million of this will be spent directly on defeating Democrats in presidential and congressional races, Koch has suggested.

Koch had indicated recently that the network might fall short of its target and raise $750 million, but in the USA Today interview, he said it is “possible” the group could hit its original goal.

James Davis, a spokesman for the Koch network’s umbrella organization, Freedom Partners, said in a phone interview with The Hill on Wednesday that the group would indeed reach the $889 million target.

“We are on pace to meet our fundraising goals,” Davis said.

Asked which presidential candidates were favored by the Koch network, Davis replied via email: “Governor Jeb Bush, Carly Fiorina and Senators Ted Cruz, Rand Paul and Marco Rubio are leading a thoughtful and substantive discussion on the issues and we look forward to hearing more about their vision for the country.”

When USA Today asked Koch what he wants to hear from Republican presidential candidates, he said, “It’s not only what they say.

“If they start saying things we think are beneficial overall and will change the trajectory of the country, then that would be good, but we have to believe also they’ll follow through on it, and by and large, candidates don’t do that,” Koch added.

Koch also told the newspaper that he had not spoken to any presidential candidates since August, when he hosted Bush, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, who has since dropped out of the race; Rubio, Cruz and Fiorina, at the Freedom Partners’ donor retreat in Southern California.

The 400-plus billionaires and multimillionaires who are members of the Koch network are so far unsettled on their choice for president and are spreading their wealth across the Republican field.

The Hill analyzed the donation patterns of 190 Koch network donors and their families, and found that Rubio and Bush were the most popular but that plenty of money had also gone to Cruz, Walker and Chris Christie, among others.

Like the Koch brothers, many other wealthy conservatives are keeping their checkbooks closed for now.

Tags Marco Rubio Rand Paul Ted Cruz