Report: David Koch Pledges Millions to Fund Spoiler Third Party Run

Report: David Koch Pledges Millions to Fund Spoiler Third Party Run

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http://media.breitbart.com/media/201..._k-640x480.jpgGage Skidmore / Flickr

by Katie McHugh19 May 20162,344
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Billionaire David Koch will bankroll Libertarian candidate and former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson’s third party presidential run with tens of millions of dollars, according to a report.

The eight-figure sum may help Johnson win the Libertarian Party nomination and break into the mainstream.
Johnson also ran for president in 2012 as a third party candidate and won some 1.275 millon votes, 0.99 percent of the popular vote. Libertarian candidates may have cost the GOP several congressional race victories that year. (David Koch himself was the Libertarian Party’s vice presidential nominee in 1980 when he and Ed Clark set the record for most votes for the party.)
Koch’s pledge is significant: Charles and David Koch both promised not to use their war chest of hundreds of millions to stop now-presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump from securing the nomination in March, turning later that month to down-ballot races.
David’s brother, Charles, told ABC News in April it’s “possible” that having Hillary Clinton in the White House would be better than electing Trump.

http://www.breitbart.com/2016-presid...ird-party-run/

Ralph Nader spoiled with a very small % of votes. Unless Bernie runs 3rd party too, a republican 3rd party is a problem. Koch bros inhaled too much of their toxic energy pollution; has dumbed them down. One can have all the money in the world and still be a jerk.

Koch-backed network aims to spend nearly $1 BILLION on 2016 elections

- The Daily Caller - http://dailycaller.com -

EXCLUSIVE: David Koch Pledges Millions To Gary Johnson’s Presidential Bid…

UPDATE: Koch Rep Denies Pledge

Posted By Drew Johnson On 11:23 AM 05/19/2016

Billionaire businessman and philanthropist David Koch has pledged “tens of millions of dollars” to help bankroll the campaign of Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson, according to a source within Johnson’s campaign.

Koch’s money will be made available should Johnson, a former two-term Republican governor of New Mexico, secure his second consecutive Libertarian Party presidential nomination, the source said.

The Libertarians will select their presidential ticket during the party’s national convention later this month in Orlando.

When asked about Koch’s eight-figure pledge to support Johnson, a source close to David Koch did not deny that such an agreement is in place.

A Koch spokesman initially declined to comment on the record.

But after publication, the spokesman told TheDC: “Reports that David Koch has pledged his support to Gary Johnson – or any candidate running for president for that matter – are untrue.”

Despite that denial, a source with a leadership position in the Libertarian Party told The Daily Caller Thursday afternoon that Johnson’s on track to receive the billionaire’s support.

“In the event that a Johnson/[Bill] Weld ticket emerges from the convention, a pathway is in place for significant funding from Koch, [Steve] Wynn and other large donors,” the source said.

Reached by phone early Tuesday morning, Johnson’s campaign manager Ron Nielson told The Daily Caller that the campaign had no intention of publicly confirming donor commitments ahead of the party’s convention.

Nielson also urged TheDC to reveal its campaign source.

While David Koch, and his brother Charles, are frequently associated with Republican and conservative causes, David was the Libertarian Party’s vice-presidential candidate in 1980. He also sits on the board of the Cato Institute, the nation’s most prominent libertarian-oriented think tank. [dcquiz]

The revelation that Koch could offer significant financial support to the Johnson campaign came just hours after Johnson announced a running mate who may assist in securing additional funding from another billionaire.

On Wednesday, in a story first reported by The Daily Caller, Johnson chose former Massachusetts Governor Bill Weld as his running mate.

In addition to his credentials as a twice-elected libertarian-leaning Republican governor, Weld recently served as attorney and chief lobbyist for casino mogul Steve Wynn during a fight to secure a state license to develop a resort and casino in suburban Boston.

The source within Johnson’s campaign admitted that “Wynn is likely to be a very important supporter” of the campaign as a result of the Las Vegas casino owner’s relationship with Weld.

The Libertarian Party selects its presidential and vice presidential nominees separately, so it is possible that Johnson may be stuck with a running mate other than Weld. It is unclear whether Wynn would be as likely to support Johnson if Weld were not part of the ticket.

A message to Steve Wynn’s spokesman was not returned.

The potential infusion of money into the Libertarian Party presidential ticket could help Johnson reach mainstream voters this year.

“People are upset and are looking for an alternative to the broken two party system,” said Nevada Libertarian Party Chairman Brett H. Pojunis.

“If the Libertarian candidate is successful raising money, the media will have a hard time ignoring that candidate,” according to Pojunis. “Especially with a public hungry for an alternative to two of the most polarizing figures in American political history.”

This report has been updated.

Article printed from The Daily Caller: http://dailycaller.com
URL to article: http://dailycaller.com/2016/05/19/ex...sidential-bid/

By Jessica Chasmar - The Washington Times - Thursday, May 19, 2016

Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson is disputing a report by The Daily Caller that billionaire Republican David Koch pledged "tens of millions of dollars" to help bankroll his campaign.

"We have no knowledge of it," Mr. Johnson told CBS News when asked about the report. "None whatsoever."

"You just got to laugh," the former New Mexico governor said, chuckling.

A spokesman for the Kochs also told CBS News: "Reports that we are supporting or considering supporting any third party presidential candidate are false."

The Daily Caller report cited "a source within Johnson's campaign" saying that Mr. Koch had pledged an eight-figure donation to support Mr. Johnson's bid.

Mr. Johnson, the Libertarian Party's 2012 presidential nominee, is up against tech entrepreneur John McAfee and activist Austin Petersen for the party's 2016 nomination, which will be decided later this month at the party's convention in Orlando, CBS News reported.

On Wednesday, Mr. Johnson chose former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld as his running mate.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/...unding-rumors/

Billionaire donors who paid to stop Trump are now backing him

Maybe the media needs to stop lying, huh? A story disputed by both Koch and Johnson? Honesty, Daily Caller, grow a pair and start printing some actual news and truth.

They don't get it. Trump is the spoiler candidate who would split the ticket if he ran independently. A heavily backed Libertarian candidate isn't going to change anything.

It seems like there are an awful lot of confused people out there in the political world. They appear to be so desperate that they are throwing everything out there seeing what sticks.

IMO Gary Johnson would hurt Hillary more than Trump. I can see a lot of Bernie supporters and just plain unhappy Democrats voting for Gary Johnson.