INDIAN WELLS, Calif. — Hundreds of wealthy donors and several Republican officials involved with the powerful Koch network gathered at the Renaissance Indian Wells Resort just outside of Palm Springs, California, on Saturday for an annual fundraising conference.
“We’ve made more progress in the last five years than I have in the previous 50,” Charles Koch said at a lavish reception to kick off the event Saturday night.
Seminar Network spokesman James Davis reported 550 donors were in attendance this year — representing the largest conference since the group’s first gathering in 2003, which was comprised of about a dozen people. Network donors must give at least $100,000 per year to earn member status.
During the conference, various groups affiliated with the Koch network, such as Americans for Prosperity, the Libre Initiative, and Stand Together plan to tout accomplishments from the past year and announce new goals like criminal justice reform and education projects, tying them together with this year’s seminar theme: “Breaking Barriers.”
Underpinning the retreat is a degree of unease in anticipation of November’s midterms. Americans for Prosperity president Tim Phillips admitted that conservative groups like his face a “very challenging environment” in retaining Republican majorities in Congress and state legislatures this year.
“Historically, the side in power faces challenges in off-years,” Phillips said, pointing to previous midterm elections that have stripped ruling parties of their majorities.
Asked whether President Donald Trump’s poor polling numbers could exacerbate an already- challenging political climate for Republicans, Phillips dodged the question and said the White House had been helpful in achieving tax reform.
Pressed again on the issue, he told reporters that AFP does not get involved in questions of personality or extraneous distractions, but instead focuses on policy.
Off-year elections are always a struggle for new administrations, said Phillips. “This is not unique to this president.”
Nonetheless, Phillips readily acknowledged a Democratic wave appears to be building: “The the left is energized. There’s no question about that.”
That’s why, he said, the group will pump more money into the 2018 campaign than they have ever invested in a midterm election before. According to a spokesman, the network’s pool of cash dedicated to boosting conservative policies and politicians in 2017 and 2018 will end up on “the high end” of a $300 million to $400 million range, marking a 60 percent increase from the $250 million the network spent in the 2016 election cycle.
AFP spent $20 million last year advocating for the passage of the Republican tax bill before it was enacted in December; Phillips promised on Saturday that the group is prepared to spend another $20 million to boast the benefits of the legislation in 2018, too.
“We’re already starting to see the fruits of tax reform,” Senate majority whip John Cornyn told seminar attendees on Saturday night, pointing to companies such as AT&T and Starbucks that have given employees bonuses and raises since its passage. “I’m delighted the network is committed to helping us tell that story.”
Joining Cornyn at the conference, which runs through Monday, are several other elected Republicans, including North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis, Indiana Sen. Todd Young, Tennessee Rep. Marsha Blackburn, House Freedom Caucus Chairman Mark Meadows, Arizona Governor Doug Ducey, and Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin.
