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Casino owner was Gov. Brewer’s largest donor

By Yvonne Wingett Sanchez The Republic | azcentral.com Wed Dec 12, 2012 5:38 PM

Las Vegas casino owner Sheldon Adelson and his wife, Miriam, gave $250,000 to Gov. Brewer’s federal political action committee.

New campaign finance reports show the billionaires donated the money to Jan PAC on Oct. 19 and are the committee’s largest donor. Federal ElectionCommission filings show Jan PAC raised more than $909,000 and spent more than $680,000.

Brewer met with Adelson last month in Las Vegas when she was there for the Republican Governor’s Association. Brewer on Wednesday said she's known Sheldon Adelson "for some time. And have enjoyed a relationship with him over a few years. And was very appreciative to the donation he made to JANPAC to have an impact on the election."

Earlier this month, Paul Senseman, spokesman for Jan PAC, told The Arizona Republic he did not know why the GOP governor met with Adelson, who contributed $95 million during the election season to various candidates, according to the Associated Press.

Asked Wednesday why Brewer and Adelson met, the governor’s spokesman Matthew Benson responded, “I don’t have any insight . She met with him out there when she was at RGA in Vegas. It’s not anything that uncommon — the governor has met with Mr. Adelson in the past; they’ve spoken before.”

The governor created the committee last year and has said it would be dedicated to “securing the border and restoring integrity to our immigration system, fighting ‘Obamacare,’ creating jobs (getting Americans back to work) and reducing the sea of government.”

During the election, the committee spent thousands of dollars to help Republican candidates Jeff Flake, Jonathan Paton, Martha McSally, Vernon Parker, and others. Paton, McSally and Parker lost.

Jan PAC also spent nearly $30,000 on robocalls in support of Romney and another $140,000 before the election for a get-out-the-vote mailer, the new FEC filings show.