James Murdoch, the scion of billionaire and Fox News founder Rupert Murdoch, gave the maximum possible donation to 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg’s campaign.
Murdoch donated $2,800 to Buttigieg, the largest amount possible to a primary candidate, according to recently filed Federal Election Commission reports. Murdoch joins other high-profile figures — including Susan Rice, formerly the National Security Adviser under President Barack Obama, and actor Ryan Reynolds — in supporting the 37-year-old Harvard graduate’s White House bid. Buttigieg has enjoyed a recent bounce in the polls thanks to a torrent of wall-to-wall media coverage.
According to an Emerson Polling survey released Monday, Buttigieg now ranks third in popularity among Democrat presidential contenders with only former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) ahead of him.
Murdoch, who served as CEO of 21st Century Fox, is described as a political centrist, reports the New York Times. Since leaving the Fox empire this March, Murdoch founded launched an investment group named Lupa Systems. James’ old brother Lachlan, who is seen as the more right-leaning of the two, recently took control over Fox Corp., the parent company of the Fox News Channel.
The Walt Disney Company acquired 21st Century Fox for $71.3 billion on March 20th.
Buttigieg officially launched his 2020 campaign in South Bend over the weekend, vowing to usher in “a new generation of leadership.” This month, Buttigieg’s campaign announced it raised more than $7 million in the first three months of 2019.
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