Foster Friess has made a name for himself as the major financial benefactor for the pro-Rick Santorum Super-PAC, and a vocal champion of good old-fashion ideas about family values (and pharmaceutical methods). But he might just be getting started.
In a profile in The New Republic, Friess reveals that in addition to his support for Santorum, he also plans to spend big on this year’s Senate races.
TNR’s Molly Redden reports:
Now Friess is hoping to have an even bigger impact on several crucial races in the fall. He told me he plans “for sure” to give to eight or ten key Senate races. His favored candidates include Denny Rehberg, who is currently locked in a virtual tie with Montana’s vulnerable Democratic senator, Jon Tester; Josh Mandel, who is challenging liberal Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown; and Dan Liljenquist, a far-right primary challenger to Republican Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah. In all three races, a large cash infusion could make a big difference.
Shripal Shah, a spokesman for Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, told TPM: “The Wall Street billionaires who bankroll Josh Mandel and Dennis Rehberg are pushing an extreme agenda that’s straight out of the 1950s. Ideologues like Foster Friess are only committing to spend whatever it takes to get Josh Mandel and Dennis Rehberg in the Senate because they know that in both of these Republicans they’ll get a loyal lackey for their far right social agenda.”
Eric Kleefeld
Eric Kleefeld joined TPM as an intern for the final months of the 2006 midterm elections, and then kept showing up for work. His other interests include guitars, old comic books and the politics of various English-speaking countries.
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