Dissatisfied With Their Party, Wealthy Republican Donors Form Secret Coalitions

A “lawfare and strategic litigation” effort with a projected price of $3.75 million is meant to make use of the courts “to carry unhealthy actors, together with the media, accountable.” A “transition mission,” with an estimated price ticket of $3 million, is meant to assemble coverage consultants and plans to create a “government-in-waiting” to “workers the following Republican administration.”

A “crimson state mission” is meant to imitate a mannequin pioneered by the left during which strategists coordinate the efforts of an array of motion teams to enhance each other and keep away from overlap. It’s estimated to price $6 million to $8 million per state, and is initially targeted on the swing states of Arizona, Nevada and Michigan.

An individual accustomed to Rockbridge described these initiatives, and their fund-raising objectives, as aspirational, and mentioned the coalition had to this point targeted on allocating donor funds to pre-existing teams to perform its objectives, relatively than creating new ones.

The particular person mentioned that the coalition had examined a few of its plans, together with a voter registration initiative, final yr in Arizona, which is recognized within the brochure as a case research.

Arizona was the location of Rockbridge’s first summit, which was held final yr. It featured a speech by Mr. Thiel, the billionaire tech investor. He and Ms. Mercer, the daughter of the hedge fund magnate Robert Mercer, had been amongst Mr. Trump’s largest donors in 2016, and labored intently collectively on his presidential transition workforce.

Since then, Mr. Thiel has emerged as a key kingmaker, supporting 16 Senate and Home candidates, a few of whom have additionally been backed by Ms. Mercer. Lots of their candidates have embraced the lie that Mr. Trump gained the 2020 election.

One, Blake Masters, a former worker of Mr. Thiel’s who’s operating for Senate in Arizona, spoke on the Rockbridge dinner reception at Mar-a-Lago on Tuesday evening earlier than Mr. Trump, and conceivably may benefit from Rockbridge’s efforts.