Fox Business reports that many big money GOP donors appear to be sending their cash to GOP House and Senate candidates rather than Mitt Romney:
The Romney campaign is experiencing what some officials believe could be the beginning of a mass exodus of big money donors diverting their cash away from the Republican presidential hopeful and toward Republican candidates for the House and Senate races more likely to win in November, the FOX Business Network has learned.
The trend isn’t at the acute stage, at least not yet, said one person with direct knowledge of the matter. This person, a major player in Romney’s New York fundraising circles, confirmed to FOX Business that a few New York donors have backed away from financial commitments to the Romney campaign and instead said they will spend their money to help the Republicans hold on to the House of Representatives, and pick up seats in the Senate.
But another person with direct knowledge of the matter says the trend, though nascent, is more geographically broad based, and reflects an increasing degree of anxiety both with what they believe is the tentative nature of the Romney campaign, and recent poll numbers that show President Obama with a lead, particularly in key battleground states, that some Republican contributors are starting to believe is insurmountable.
“This isn’t just a New York trend,” this person said. “It’s beginning to occur all over the place.”
Given the fact that the there is still a month to go in the campaign, none of the debates have even taken place yet, and Romney’s actual gap isn’t necessarily a death knell at this point in time, this is somewhat surprising, but it may also reflect other frustrations that some big money donors have had with the campaign for awhile now:
Some of Romney’s New York donors, particularly from the financial industry, have been openly critical of the campaign’s approach, arguing that Romney should be spending more time forcefully attacking President Obama on the economy and his foreign policy, according to people with knowledge of the matter. They’ve also accused the campaign of muzzling his vice presidential running mate Paul Ryan on the campaign trail, something Ryan has personally denied when asked.
If Romney does will in the debate tomorrow and the gap in the polls starts to shrink just a bit, then that could be enough to get these donors back on board. However, if this continues, then the Romney campaign may find itself running short on resources as the campaign goes into the final stretch.
H/T: Ron Chusid
