In donating to Gingrich, Adelson may be helping Romney

By Anjeanette Damon

Sunday, March 11, 2012 | 3 a.m.

Could Las Vegas casino mogul Sheldon Adelson have two — count ‘em, two! — Republican presidential candidates indebted to him for their standing in the race? It’s a question on the minds of national campaign observers as the Adelson family continues to pump money into the super PAC supporting former House Speaker Newt Gingrich’s increasingly long-shot campaign for the White House.

Adelson’s money has single-handedly kept Gingrich’s campaign alive as the former speaker loses state after state and scrapes to have enough money to fight for a string of Southern states coming up on the primary schedule.

At last count, the Adelson family had ponied up more than $11 million for Winning Our Future, the independent PAC helping Gingrich. And that was before national outlets reported Adelson had given another undisclosed sum to the PAC.

But more than keeping Gingrich in the race, Adelson’s money may also be keeping former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney as the favorite.

Thanks to Gingrich remaining in the race, former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum has been unable to consolidate the anti-Romney conservative vote behind his candidacy.

In Salon, political writer Steve Kornacki analyzed the Gingrich-effect in Ohio, a key state, where a loss would have thrown Romney’s campaign into a tailspin.

Kornacki found Gingrich’s share of the vote far exceeded the margin between Romney and Santorum. He also found Gingrich performed strongly with Santorum’s core constituencies, including Tea Party voters.

Had Gingrich no longer been in the race, it’s possible Santorum would have won Ohio and dealt a significant, if not fatal, blow to Romney’s campaign.

So, was Adelson politically astute enough to divine this potential outcome when he began giving to Gingrich? Maybe. But it’s unlikely that it’s what motivated his giving.

“It goes to really to Sheldon’s personality,” said Republican consultant Pete Ernaut. “He’s a very loyal guy. My guess is he’ll give money to Newt Gingrich until the speaker is out of the race. Whatever effects that may have on the other candidates is a secondary issue.”

Still, Adelson has been able to navigate the possible consequences of backing a losing candidate fairly adeptly.

Giving in a primary campaign can be dangerous. Especially if the other guy ultimately wins. That’s why big donors often seek to cloak their identity, giving through corporations, or to special political non-profits that have more latitude to hide their donors.

Not Adelson. He’s publicly taken credit for his whopping contributions at nearly every turn.

“I have my own philosophy and I’m not ashamed of it,” he told Forbes magazine. “I gave the money because there is no other legal way to do it. I don’t want to go through 10 different corporations to hide my name. I’m proud of what I do and I’m not looking to escape recognition.”

That put Adelson in a somewhat awkward position when Winning Our Future carpet-bombed South Carolina with one of the more brutal attack campaigns against Romney this election cycle.

Adelson and his lieutenants quickly put out word that he wasn’t a fan of the negative ads. When his wife Dr. Miriam Adelson chipped in her own $5 million, the couple said they hoped it would be used to bolster Gingrich, not attack Romney.

And as the money continued to flow, they made it clear that their giving wasn’t necessarily anti-Romney. The New York Times reported that Adelson assured Romney’s campaign that he would support Romney if he wins the nomination.

Further, Adelson signaled that his secondary motivation was to keep Santorum, with whom he disagrees on social issues, from winning the nomination. To that end, Adelson may be the key to Romney securing the nomination.

And then, Adelson would have two presidential candidates owing him a debt of thanks.