Marketplace®

Daily business news and economic stories

What’s next for wealthy donors when candidates drop out?

The top donors to presidential campaigns are spending millions of dollars on candidates. But who will they back next if their candidates leave the race?

Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush dropped out of the race shortly following the South Carolina primary, despite having a well-financed campaign. 
Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush dropped out of the race shortly following the South Carolina primary, despite having a well-financed campaign. 
Sean Rayford/Getty Images

Primary season is in full swing and the number of candidates in the presidential race is shrinking. With Super Tuesday votes behind us, eyes are on who stays in the race and who decides to drop out. It’s especially important when money’s involved. The day after the South Carolina primary, Jeb Bush — unable to get double digit percentages in the primaries despite the millions of dollars poured into his campaign — called it quits. Earlier in the race, Scott Walker and Rick Perry also had big donors behind them, but they dropped out as well, causing some donors to get refunds on their donations.

So what happens to these mega-donors once their candidate quits? What goes into their decision to support a candidate? Do they sit out of the election if the campaign they back ends? Or do they switch their support to another candidate?

It’s most likely donors will to keep their money in the race. For some, their political party might be the next stop. “Parties can receive contributions, too” said Abby Wood, assistant professor of law, political science and public policy at USC. “If you don’t want to be lead by Trump, maybe the thing to do is give to the Republican party,” she said. “The party can protect various senate seats that are going to be challenged, congressional seats, state candidates — there’s a lot that the party can do.” However, the amount that can be donated to the party is limited, whereas donating to a PAC is unlimited.

For other wealthy donors, they might just move to back another presidential hopeful. While there’s no knowing for sure, a few experts gave us their educated guesses on who the race’s top 10 donors might turn to next if their candidate drops out:















Additional reporting by Janet Nguyen and Tony Wagner. Photos by Getty Images. Campaign finance statistics from OpenSecrets.org and the Federal Election Commission.

Related Topics