Mega-donors pressing Kochs to back Trump: report

Several major Republican donors are hoping to persuade the Koch brothers to throw their support, and their money, behind Donald Trump.

{mosads}Members of the Kochs’ sprawling donor network told Reuters about their efforts to lobby the duo on behalf of the Trump campaign and expressed some optimism that they were getting through to the brothers.

“I don’t think it’s impossible, or beyond the realm of possibility, that at some point the Kochs are going to get involved,” said Doug Deason, a member of the network and a Texas state finance chair for the Trump campaign.

Deason told Reuters he had floated the idea of Trump, the GOP presidential nominee, meeting with the brothers in an email to Charles Koch.

“We think it’s really important that Donald convince Charles he’s the right guy, and for Charles to influence Donald’s policies,” he said. “He [Charles Koch] indicates he’s taking a wait and see approach. He’s not completely writing if off.”

Stanley Hubbard, another member of the Koch network, said the prospect of a Democrat picking the next additions to the Supreme Court should be troubling to Charles and David Koch.

“A lot of us are giving a lot of money to the Kochs, and what we would expect is that they would do all they can to see to it that the right Supreme Court justices are selected,” said Hubbard. “Supreme Court justices will last a lot longer than any president.”

And an adviser to another member of the network said that many of the members believe the Kochs should get involved.

“Some of the Koch donor class this weekend is surely going to say, ‘Hey, guys, get on board,’ ” the adviser said.

The Koch brothers have so far emphasized their dissatisfaction with the two presidential candidates and maintained neutrality in the race.

“If I had to vote for cancer or heart attack, why would I vote for either?” Charles Koch told Fortune earlier this month.