Daniels Meeting with Top GOP Donors
Politico reports:
Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels has been holding a series of private dinners with top Republican business leaders, policy hands and donors from around the country since this spring, an indication that he’s thinking more seriously about a presidential bid than he publicly lets on.
The dinners, which take place at the governor’s mansion in Indianapolis, are meant to introduce Daniels to a class of GOP heavy-hitters who could both finance and advise a White House campaign.
Both attendees and Daniels’ advisers said the governor is not using the sit-downs to request commitments or even talking in any detail about the prospect of a run.
Rather, the intimate get-togethers are more like get-to-know-you sessions – the political equivalent of a first date – in which the governor can tell the story of what he’s done in the Hoosier State and gauge interest in a possible candidacy and his visitors can get a first-hand look at the Republican who’s been winning so much insider buzz.
“I was very impressed with Gov. Daniels,” said James Huffines, a Texas banker and major national donor who flew up from Austin for a June dinner. “I think he’s a fresh face for the Republican Party and I hope he does run.”
Huffines said he found the former OMB chief especially strong in his command of the spending issues – “he’s got as good a grasp as anyone on the federal budget and how we can fix the problem” – but was not yet ready to commit to any candidate.
Former Rep. George Nethercutt (R-Wash.), now a lobbyist in Washington, D.C., attended a separate dinner and also came away impressed.
“I hope he will be a candidate,” Nethercutt said, praising Daniels’ “demeanor, depth of knowledge, seriousness and record.”
The former congressman said Daniels was “not committal” on whether he’d run.
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