WASHINGTON (AP) — If he runs for president as expected, Sen. Marco Rubio will have a political committee ready to raise and spend unlimited cash on his behalf.
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But from even his most enthusiastic supporters, Rubio can only accept $2,700 to help him win the nomination. The pro-Rubio, independent Conservative Solutions PAC will face no such limits.
Conservative Solutions is set to collect checks from deep-pocketed donors to pay for as many television, digital and radio ads as it can afford to boost Rubio’s chances.
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Rubio is no different now. Led by veteran Republican consultant
Warren Tompkins, Conservative Solutions PAC is set to be Rubio’s primary advertising partner, allowing the official campaign to focus on other nuts-and-bolts functions of running a race, such as building databases, knocking on doors and staging public events.
Conservative Solutions officials declined to provide a budget, but Newt Gingrich’s failed presidential bid in 2012 proved
a super PAC only needs a single patron to be effective. The pro-Gingrich super PAC Winning the Future collected $20 million from casino billionaires Sheldon and Miriam Adelson to keep it afloat after a string of primary losses. (The Adelsons then gave Romney’s super PAC $30 million when he became the nominee.)
Rubio has met with the Adelsons multiple times since January although they remain uncommitted in the presidential campaign and are considering a lesser role in 2016.
Tompkins is a major get for Rubio’s allies, and not just because he has seven presidential primaries on his resume. He was Ronald Reagan’s political director during the South Carolina primary, then went on to work for the campaigns of George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush and Romney.
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Making what is expected to be a raft of ads will be
Jon Lerner, who has more than two-dozen winning House, Senate and gubernatorial campaigns to his credit. Most recently, he has been the advertising adviser for the last four successful gubernatorial campaigns in South Carolina.
Jon Graham will head up fundraising for the group, which can take unlimited cash from donors but must disclose its fundraising and spending on a regular basis. His firm, Gula Graham, has raised more than $100 million since it was formed in 2009.
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Jeff Sadosky, a veteran of George W. Bush’s re-election bid and John McCain’s presidential campaign, will manage the communications for the super PAC. Sadosky’s most recent campaign was Rob Portman’s successful bid for Senate in Ohio in 2010. He served as a senior aide in Portman’s Senate office before going to work in the private sector.
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http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle...set-to-launch-2016-campaign-gets-a-super-pac/
