Meet Florida?s big-time donors to super PACs

In Florida?s vast political orbit, Barbara Stiefel hardly registers. Yet if President Barack Obama wins reelection, the 59-year-old retiree from Coral Gables will have played an outsized role.

Stiefel this year has written checks for $50,000 and $1 million to the pro-Obama Priorities USA Action, one of the new breed of ?super PACs? using unlimited donations to scramble the rules of political campaigns.

Her money ? a mountain compared to the $5,000 she was legally allowed to give directly to Obama ? helped produce an onslaught of TV ads portraying Mitt Romney as an out-of-touch corporate raider.

Stiefel, whose family made money in the pharmaceutical business, is not alone in Florida, but she is the only Democratic super donor. Ten residents have given at least $500,000 to super PACs.

?There are some very wealthy people on both sides who are looking to make a statement,? said Brian Ballard, a veteran Florida GOP fundraiser. ?The super PAC steps it up another notch.?

Stiefel did not return messages seeking comment, which was a common thread among the super donors. They either declined to comment or could not be reached.

The nine other heavyweights in Florida have given to Republican causes:

???John W. Childs, 71, of Vero Beach. He runs a private equity firm in Boston and has given $3.1 million to three conservative super PACs, according to records collected by the Center for Responsive Politics. He contributed $1 million to the pro-Romney Restore Our Future; $1.1 million to Club for Growth Action; and $1 million to American Crossroads, a group started by Karl Rove. (Crossroads? latest work is an ad attacking Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson for getting a tax break on pasture land in Brevard County.)

??Bill Koch, 72, of Palm Beach. He is not as well known as his brothers, David and Charles, who have donated millions to conservative causes. Koch and two of his coal companies, Oxbow Carbon and Huron Carbon, have given $3 million to Restore Our Future. ?He?s a big believer in Mitt Romney,? said Koch spokesman Brad Goldstein.

???Irving Moskowitz, 84, of Miami Beach. The businessman and California bingo operator has long been a pro-Israel activist, pushing for Jewish settlements in Arab sections of Jerusalem. Moskowitz gave $1 million to American Crossroads in February.

???Grace Evenstad, 68, of Naples, who owns a winery in Oregon. She has given $250,000 to American Crossroads and $500,000 to Restore Our Future. Her husband, Ken, is CEO of the pharmaceutical company Upsher-Smith.

???Margaret Caveney, 88, and husband Jack Caveney, 86, of North Palm Beach. They have ties to Panduit Corp. in Illinois. They have given $550,000 to several groups, including Restore Our Future and Winning Our Future, which supported Newt Gingrich in the GOP presidential primary.

???Jerry Jordan, 73, of Palm Beach. He founded a hedge fund in Boston and is close to Romney. He and his wife, Darlene, 45, are on Romney?s Florida finance team. They have given $500,000 to Restore Our Future.

???Miguel "Mike" Fernandez, 60, of Miami. The chairman of MBF Health Care Partners, a private equity firm, is also on Romney?s finance team. He gave $500,000 to Restore Our Future. The related MBF Family Investments gave $500,000 to the same committee.

Source: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/10/14/3050414/meet-floridas-big-time-donors.html

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