NYT: Koch Brothers Say 2016 GOP Nominee Should Be Scott Walker

Republican Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker speaks during a meeting with area Republicans, Sunday, April 19, 2015, in Derry, N.H. (AP Photo/Jim Cole)
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Billionaire conservative donors Charles G. and David H. Koch signaled Monday that they want Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) to get the 2016 GOP nomination for president and could give money directly to him to get him there.

“We will support whoever the candidate is,” David Koch said to donors at a fundraising event hosted by the New York State Republican Party on Monday, according to The New York Times. “But it should be Scott Walker.”

Koch, according to the Times, said that political organizations in the Koch network would probably not coalesce around one candidate in the Republican primary. Koch did say though, according to two attendees at the event, that he and his brother could personally give money to Walker if he decides to run for president — which he’s expected to.

Support from the Koch brothers would be a boon for any Republican candidate. The two brothers are perhaps the most famous Republican donors in American politics and command a vast network of political organizations and super PACs aimed at boosting conservative policies. The brothers have also said they plan to spend almost $1 billion in the 2016 campaign cycle (reportedly about $889 million to be exact).

Walker’s connections to the Koch brothers through support from Koch-backed groups like Americans for Prosperity have been reported on before. Tim Phillips, the president of Americans for Prosperity, for example, has heaped praise on Walker saying that he’s been “as transformative as any governor anywhere in a generation.”

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