Gingrich Benefactor Sheldon Adelson Could Contribute Another $10 Million

Sheldon Adelson, the billionaire casino magnate who has already injected millions into Newt Gingrich's campaign through a friendly Super PAC, could be preparing to open his wallet once again.

CNN and CBS are reporting that Adelson is poised to pour $10 million into Gingrich's sputtering campaign through the pro-Gingrich Super PAC Winning our Future. The donation could prove reshape the Republican presidential race as the candidates gird for a potentially decisive string of primaries, including the 10 Super Tuesday states that will vote on Mar. 6.

Adelson's largesse has played a large role in enabling Gingrich's presidential bid. American Solutions for Winning the Future, a political committee that helped to launch Gingrich's current campaign, received about $7.7 million from Adelson between 2006 and 2010. Adelson and his wife Miriam have each given Winning our Future about $5 million during the current race, helping to revive Gingrich's campaign after disappointing finishes in Iowa and New Hampshire and then bankrolling a Florida advertising counteroffensive against Mitt Romney.

Gingrich is struggling once again, with Rick Santorum having seized the mantle of the main alternative to Romney. Gingrich was crushed by Romney in Florida and Nevada before finishing a distant third or fourth in Missouri, Minnesota and Colorado, where Santorum's convincing wins gave his campaign new life.

The former Speaker of the House has sworn to soldier on, and his strategy relies on wins in a redoubt of conservatives Southern states like Georgia and Tennessee. An influx of cash from Adelson could help Gingrich stay competitive.

The prospect of another Adelson donation underscores the extent to which unlimited contributions to Super PACs have allowed a small group of wealthy benefactors to play an outsize role in the 2012 presidential race. Ari Berman reported that 196 individuals accounted for nearly 80 percent of the money Super PACs received in 2011.

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