Gop, Campaign Funds | featured news

Leaders of some of the new groups are taking advantage of the mammoth donations and the lack of oversight to write themselves big paychecks or hire their own companies. The Red White and Blue Fund, a "super PAC" backing the presidential bid of Republican Rick Santorum, paid more than half a million dollars last month to a newly formed direct mail firm.

Abraham Foxman, the amiably chatty director of the Jewish civil rights group, the Anti-Defamation League, has a story to tell about his friend, the 78-year-old multi-billionaire casino mogul Sheldon Adelson. Adelson, who is America's eighth richest man and has given millions of dollars in support of Newt Gingrich's presidential bid, was having dinner with Foxman in Las Vegas several years ago. Foxman let slip that he was having to miss an invitation to the White House from the then president, George W. Bush. Foxman explained it was impossible to get a commercial flight. Adelson replied: "If the president of the United States asks you to go, you go." Then he gave Foxman the use of his private plane.

Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich attack each other ahead of a debate in Florida on Monday, just days after Mr Gingrich's upset in the South Carolina primary. Mr Gingrich's campaign said it received $1m (£643,000) in 24 hours following his primary win in South Carolina.

"Super PACs" have spent about $27.5 million to influence the presidential election, a good chunk coming from an independent group supporting GOP front-runner Mitt Romney.

Presidential candidate Rick Perry's criticism of Mitt Romney's business past had a boomerang effect Thursday, costing him the support of a prominent Republican in South Carolina. Investment fund executive and top GOP donor Barry Wynn told The Associated Press he was leaving the Perry fold to endorse Romney, the former Massachusetts governor. Wynn said Perry's attacks on Romney's time at the helm of the private equity firm Bain Capital had crossed the line in a political party that values free-market capitalism.

A Las Vegas billionaire with ties to Newt Gingrich has given $5 million to an independent group backing the former House Speaker's presidential bid.

Apparently "9-9-9" is good for about $3 million. That's how much money Herman Cain says he's raised in the month of October alone as financial support begins to match a spike in the polls that is defying political gravity.

A stark financial divide is opening up between two groups of Republican candidates for president, with the top candidates together bringing in tens of millions of dollars in their bids for the presidency and a second tier struggling to attract major donors and in some cases even crack the million-dollar mark.

Mitt Romney leads all Republicans in the contest for campaign cash, cementing his frontrunner status among contenders hoping to go up against President Barack Obama in 2012....

Everyone knows Mitt Romney is going to outpace the GOP presidential field when next month's fundraising reports come out. But the scale of his money advantage is finally coming ...