Liberal billionaire George Soros has joined the finance council of Ready for Hillary, the Super PAC rallying support for a potential presidential bid by Hillary Clinton, the Washington Post reports:
"George Soros is delighted to join more than one million Americans in supporting Ready for Hillary," Michael Vachon, Soros’s political director, said in a statement. "His support for Ready for Hillary is an extension of his long-held belief in the power of grassroots organizing."
The commitment by Soros – announced by the super PAC Thursday -- represents another heavyweight endorsement for the group, which was started earlier this year by Clinton supporters. Other members of the national finance council, who must contribute or raise $25,000, include Esprit co-founder Susie Tompkins Buell, entrepreneur Jo Ousterhout and attorneys Steve and Amber Mostyn.
Soros has been heavily involved in the financing of Democratic causes in recent years, contributing nearly $24 million in 2004, and helped organize the Democracy Alliance, a shadowy group of major liberal donors, in 2005.
Ready for Hillary faces competition in the Clinton-fundraising space from Priorities USA, the Obama-affiliated Super PAC best known for a campaign ad suggesting Mitt Romney may have been responsible for a woman's death from cancer. Priorities USA spent $67 million in the 2012 cycle.
Soros himself contributed $1 million to Priorities USA last September.
Earlier this year, the Washington Post reported Ready for Hillary's focus is more "grass-roots organizing" than that of Priorities USA.