PAC profile: Santa Rita

Introduction

Type of organization: Super PAC

Supports: Ron Paul

Founded: Dec. 15, 2011

Website: santaritasuperpac.org

Social media: YouTube channel, Facebook page

Principals:

• Donald Huffines (founder and treasurer): Dallas-based billionaire real estate developer.

Profile:

The smallest of the three Ron Paul-alligned super PACs, Santa Rita PAC submitted registration documents to the Federal Election Commission in December 2011. The Texas-based organization was named after the patron saint of the impossible. Its stated goal was to “assist Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul in winning enough delegates to prevent any other Republican candidate from having a majority.” It was unsuccessful in that effort.

Ahead of the South Carolina GOP primary, the super PAC ran several ads ahead of the South Carolina primary touting the libertarian-leaning congressman, who lost the party’s nomination battle to former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.

At the end of 2011, the group managed to raise $234,000 in six days from just seven contributors, according to a filing with the Federal Election Commission.

Among the contributors: Mark L. Hart III and Shannon Hart, who each gave $50,000. Mark Hart is founder of Corriente Advisers in Fort Worth, Texas, and is a global investment adviser. Hart, according to Bloomberg, has the unusual distinction of betting the right way on both subprime mortgage bonds and European debt.

Santa Rita super PAC founder Donald Huffines also contributed $50,000 of his own money on Dec. 22, 2011.

See more data on Santa Rita at OpenSecrets.org, or more background information at FactCheck.org.

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• Santa Rita aired several ads touting Ron Paul’s electability, including one that claims Paul is “the only candidate who can beat Barack Obama.”

Last Updated: Jan. 15, 2013