‘Super’ PACs set to disclose big donors Tuesday
Shadowy outside groups funded by anonymous donors and working on behalf of candidates they support have pummeled Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich and others for the past two months by spending millions of dollars on mostly negative TV ads that have had an enormous impact on the fight for the Republican presidential nomination.
Now, for the first time since they started shaping this campaign in earnest, many of those “super” political action committees are set to disclose just who is financing their pseudo-campaign operations. Many took advantage of a change in federal rules that essentially let them shield their donors’ identities until after key primary elections in January. But they still must submit their financial reports to the Federal Election Commission by Tuesday.
Only a handful of donors are known, including Las Vegas billionaire casino owner Sheldon Adelson. His two checks for $5 million apiece to Winning Our Future, a pro-Gingrich group, essentially kept the former House speaker’s White House campaign afloat at critical junctures just before the South Carolina and Florida primaries.