Trounced By Thiel: Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly’s Richest Donors Give Little While Peter Thiel Shells Out For Competitor

Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), pictured here at the 2016 Democratic National Convention, lacks the same level of billionaire backing that his potential GOP opponent, Blake Masters, enjoys.

ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images

Peter Thiel famously dumped $10 million into the Arizona Senate race in 2021, backing a former employee of his named Blake Masters. If Masters wins the Republican nomination, he will face incumbent Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) in the general election. And unfortunately for Kelly, his own set of billionaire backers aren’t spending like Thiel.

They have made some donations. Daniel Lubetzky, creator of the Kind snack bar, gave $10,000 to a joint-fundraising committee backing Kelly. Lubetzky’s wife, Michelle, added $15,800. Their $25,800 combined contribution, equivalent to 0.26% of Thiel’s largest donation, qualifies as the biggest billionaire gift to Kelly since the start of 2021, according to the latest Federal Election Commission filings.

Others have chipped in too. Former Reebok executive Paul Fireman gave $20,800. LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman spent $20,000, telling Forbes in a statement that the GOP “continues to nominate candidates who will throw our country into chaos.” Media mogul Barry Diller handed over $15,000 — noting in a statement he personally knows Kelly, who he called a “fine individual.”

Billionaires aren’t the only ones who put money into politics, of course. Kelly’s campaign has managed to stockpile $23 million by hanging onto funds from his previous campaign and tapping small-dollar donors. That gave the incumbent more cash on hand by the end of March than all of the official campaign committees of his potential Republican opponents combined.

In addition, Kelly may have another ace up his sleeve. Senate Majority PAC, a national super PAC that supports Democrats, has raised plenty of money from billionaires, including millions from Netflix cofounder Reed Hastings, San Francisco real estate tycoon George Marcus and a couple of hedge fund giants, Jim Simons and George Soros. The super PAC has only spent $136,000 on the Arizona race so far. But as of May, it is sitting on a $53 million war chest, which could come in handy if Kelly needs backup in his bid to hold on to his seat.

Here are Mark Kelly’s top four billionaire donors, as of March 31, 2022: