GOP 2016 Hopefuls Audition for Adelson

New York Times: “Amid a crisis in Ukraine, some of the top contenders for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016 addressed a meeting here of the Republican Jewish Coalition, a collection of elite campaign donors and party activists, offering a unified message of alarm and dismay over the White House’s approach to national security and foreign policy.”

“The event has long lured national Republican candidates eager to burnish their reputations with the interventionist wing of their party. But it now doubles as something else: a de facto audition for the electoral affections of the casino magnate and top Republican donor Sheldon G. Adelson, a member of the Republican Jewish Coalition’s board and the owner of the Venetian hotel, where the event was held.”

Politico: “All the prospective presidential hopefuls pitched the crowd on their pro-Israel bonafides — the top issue for Adelson and many RJC donors — and all were expected to meet privately with Adelson over the course of the weekend.”