Casino and hotel titan Sheldon Adelson and his wife have given $250,000 each to Patriot Prosperity, a super PAC backing New Jersey GOP congressional candidate Shmuley Boteach, sources close the PAC and the Adelsons tell
The Wall Street Journal.
Boteach, a celebrity rabbi, faces veteran Democratic Rep. Bill Pascrell in a newly drawn district in Northern Jersey. The Adelsons and Boteach have been friends for some time.
Rabbi Shmuley, as he is known by the public, cuts a prominent figure in the New York-New Jersey area. He wrote a book, “Kosher Sex;” hosted a reality TV show, “Shalom in the Home;” and was a spiritual adviser to legendary singer Michael Jackson. Newsweek included Boteach in a list of the 50 most influential rabbis in the U.S.
“I treasure the Adelsons’ support. They are among the most generous and sophisticated political donors in the country,” Boteach told The Journal in a statement through his spokesman.
The Adelsons already had contributed directly to Boteach’s campaign. The new allocation “is a game changer, and I suspect there will be many more like it,” Boteach said.
The Adelson’s likely top the list of donors to Republican causes during the current election cycle, having shelled out more than $40 million. Sheldon Adelson has told friends that he plans to fork over $100 million to causes and candidates to take down President Barack Obama in November.
On the congressional front, Adelson also has donated $1 million to the super PAC backing Republican Rep. Connie Mack in his Florida Senate race.
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