Pro-Bush PAC lands $10M contribution

Right to Rise USA, a super-PAC supporting the presidential candidacy of Jeb Bush, has received a $10 million donation from insurance executive Hank Greenberg, sources familiar with the situation told The Wall Street Journal on Thursday.

{mosads}With the contribution, Greenberg, the former chairman and CEO of American International Group (AIG), becomes one of the largest backers in the election cycle, joining a rarified group of donors who have written eight-figure checks.

Super PACs backing Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) have so far drawn the largest individual contributions, including $15 million from the Wilks family fracking fortune, $11 million from hedge-fund manager Robert Mercer and $10 million from private-equity fund founder Toby Neugebauer.

According to a Journal review of Federal Election Commission records, Right to Rise has spent more than $47 million on advertising this election cycle, more than any other entity in the 2016 race.

But the extravagance has had a muted effect on Bush’s candidacy, failing to bring his lackluster campaign out of the single digits in the crowded Republican primary field.

The former Florida governor polls at just 3.3 percent support nationwide, according to a RealClearPolitics average of polls.

Broad super-PAC support did not help other GOP contenders in this cycle. Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and former Texas Gov. Rick Perry were both forced to drop out of the Republican primary after their campaign funds dried up, despite generous super-PAC support.  

Bush’s relationship with Greenberg dates back to his days as the governor of Florida, when Greenberg donated $1 million to hurricane relief efforts in 2004 following a string of tropical storms.