Charles Koch and his allies plan to put their thumb on the scale in the upcoming Republican presidential primary. Looks like Trump has outlived his usefulness with the group who plan to back anyone other than Trump:
The network of donors and activist groups led by conservative billionaire Charles Koch will oppose Donald Trump for the 2024 Republican nomination, mounting a direct challenge to the former president’s campaign to win back the White House.
“The best thing for the country would be to have a president in 2025 who represents a new chapter,” Emily Seidel, chief executive of the network’s flagship group, Americans for Prosperity (AFP), wrote in a memo released publicly on Sunday. The three-page missive repeatedly suggests that AFP is taking on the responsibility of stopping Trump, with Seidel writing: “Lots of people are frustrated. But very few people are in a position to do something about it. AFP is. Now is the time to rise to the occasion.” [...]
While the memo didn’t name a spending target, AFP’s affiliated super PAC spent more than $69 million in the 2022 cycle, according to Federal Election Commission disclosures. The Koch network now joins the Club for Growth, another of the largest outside spenders, and several of the party’s biggest individual donors such as finance billionaires Kenneth C. Griffin and Stephen A. Schwarzman in signaling their opposition to Trump’s current campaign. Others are holding back for now.
As CNN noted, there are quite a few of them with ties to the Kochs, but my money is on DeSantis this time around:
Several Republicans weighing 2024 bids have longstanding ties to Koch world, including former Vice President Mike Pence. Marc Short, Pence’s former chief of staff and longtime aide, once oversaw political operations at the Koch network.
Another potential contender, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, had the financial backing of Koch political committees when he represented Wichita – where Koch Industries is headquartered – as a congressman. Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who is expected to announce her bid for the Republican nomination later this month, has attended at least one Koch donor conclave. And a Koch-backed super PAC supported Ron DeSantis before he won a competitive GOP primary in 2018 on his way to becoming governor.
