LAS VEGAS - Sheldon Adelson, the billionaire casino executive keeping Newt Gingrich’s presidential hopes alive, has relayed assurances to Mitt Romney that he will provide even more generous support to his candidacy if he becomes the Republican nominee, several associates said in interviews here.
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The signals from Adelson, whose politics are shaped in large part by his support for Israel, reflect what the associates said was his deep investment in defeating President Obama and his willingness to play a more prominent role in the Republican Party and conservative causes.
The assurances have been conveyed in response to a highly delicate campaign by Romney and his top Jewish financial supporters to dissuade Adelson from adding to the $10 million that he and his wife have given to a pro-Gingrich super PAC, Winning Our Future, that has been tearing into Romney through television advertising.
But, they said, he is concerned that additional deep-pocketed donors have not joined him. And, they said, his affection for and loyalty to Gingrich, who met with him here on Friday, have not blinded him to the reality that the nominating contest is tilting in Romney’s favor.
“Sheldon is committed to keeping him in the race as long as he wants to stay in,’’ said Fred Zeidman, a top fund-raiser for Romney and a longtime friend of Adelson. “But any time that Newt decides to get out of the race, he would devote his energy and money to the overriding issue, which is beating Barack Obama.’’
That's almost enough to make me vote for the guy.
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