LAS VEGAS — Republican politicians filed in and out of Las Vegas this week to give public speeches at an annual event held by the influential Republican Jewish Coalition.
But behind the scenes, there was something else happening: the Adelson primary.
For years, an informal process dubbed “the Adelson primary” took place that brought politicians to meet with billionaire casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, founder of the Las Vegas Sands casino and one of the party’s largest financiers. In 2012, the winner was Newt Gingrich, who got more than $5 million from the family before losing his bid for president; in 2016, the award went to Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, who ultimately lost the Republican nomination for president to Trump that year.
The process quieted in 2021 after Sheldon Adelson died, but his wife, Miriam, seems set to take over the title of GOP kingmaker. She is no stranger to politics, but this week as RJC met at the Venetian in Las Vegas, her presence over the 2024 election cycle became even more pronounced.
“The importance of the Adelsons never diminished. [Miriam] Adelson has had a bit of a different approach since [Sheldon] Adelson’s passing, but the mission remains the same,” said a longtime Republican operative familiar with the family’s thinking. “She is always going to preserve his legacy and do what’s best to protect the United States and our greatest ally, Israel.”
During the three-day annual RJC summit, Miriam Adelson met with prominent Republican politicians including Montana Sen. Steve Daines, who this election cycle runs the National Republican Senatorial Committee; Florida Sen. Rick Scott, who is running to become Senate Republican leader; and Florida Reps. Byron Donalds and Mick Waltz, both of whom are considering runs for governor in Florida in 2026.
“Every policymaker that wants to ascend in the Republican Party knows that a relationship with the Adelsons is key,” the Republican operative said. “Twenty years ago nobody knew what the RJC was and today you have statehouse members tripping over themselves to try and go to the Vegas event.”
“That is a direct result of the Adelsons,” the person added.
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump was not at the event in person, but he delivered a video address to the conference and was introduced Thursday afternoon as a “friend” by Adelson herself.
“He is our best friend,” Adelson said of Trump’s relationship with the Jewish community. “I am eagerly awaiting him to enter the White House.”
In 2020, an Adelson-led super PAC spent $100 million to help Trump’s failed bid against President Joe Biden; this year, it plans to spend even more. Adelson has so far personally given $5 million to the pro-Trump super PAC Preserve America through June, the most recent numbers available.
RJC executive director Matt Brooks said he believes the importance of the Adelson family’s role in national Republican politics is now set to continue under Miriam Adelson.
“Both Sheldon and Miriam were and are passionate about these issues, they are defenders of America, and defenders of freedom and democracy across the world,” he said. “This is deeply important to her and obviously she spoke from the heart today.”
Brooks said his organization will spend a record $15 million in the swing states of Pennsylvania, Michigan, Arizona, Nevada and Georgia, which all have large Jewish communities seen as winnable for either Trump or Vice President Kamala Harris.
Brooks said that record spending for a single election cycle has helped them boost their data capabilities and the ability to build the nation’s only “voter file of Jewish voters” that it can specifically message to.
“Our messaging is very simple: The Jewish community for the first time in my lifetime … feels unsafe and not secure,” Brooks said. “It is a scary, scary time.”
Much of the convention’s focus was on the safety of the Jewish population after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks that saw 1,200 people killed and roughly 250 taken hostage, according to Israeli officials. More than 40,000 people have been killed in the Gaza Strip, according to local health officials, since Israel launched its military offensive following the attack.
“Donald Trump will make it so Jews can feel free to walk the streets of America wearing a Kippah without feeling that they are under attack,” Brooks said. “Jewish college students will be able to walk across their campuses without fear of being attacked. Those are the central issues that are at stake in this election.”
The group’s goal of returning to the White House and making sure Republicans hold the House and retake the Senate are the main short-term goals of RJC and Adelson, but the broader process of her developing relationships with ambitious Republican politicians is also once again in motion.
“She laid low at first [after Sheldon’s death],” said a longtime Republican consultant familiar with the family. “But in recent months and years, she has taken on a more outsized role.”
Though still viewed as an important feather in the cap of any major Republican politician, the past few perceived winners of the so-called Adelson primary were not able to use that momentum to become even the Republican nominee for president.
“I don’t think it really matters,” said a former adviser to Rubio. “It didn’t matter at all for us in 2016, and big donors don’t really dictate much in the party anymore. Donors will always be important to help fund campaign operations and to remain competitive, especially in presidential campaigns, but good candidates who have a solid connection to the core of the party can defeat major donor money.”
There will remain, however, no shortage of ambitious Republicans, including those who one day want to run for president, lining up to make sure they are on Adelson’s radar.
“There are few things more important in Republican politics, and I do not think that has changed,” a longtime Adelson ally told NBC News. “This weekend was a showcase of that.”