It was a poą¹litical beauty pageant ā with the White House as the potential prize.
Some of the leading Republican candidates for president gathered at Jet ą¼ŗowner Woody Johnsonās home Monday night to preview their ź¦ŗpitches before some of the partyās biggest fund-raisers, sources said.
Heavy hitters paid $34,000 a plate to take the measure of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Sen. Marco Rubio of Florišøda, Sen. Rand Paul of Keāntucky and Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin ā any of whom could be the next Republican nominee in 2016.
Possible contenders Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder and Wisāconsin Gov. Scott Walker, whoās up for re-election next year, also attended.
The event pulled in more than $3 mšillion, with a separate reception drawing 300 donors that raised even more for the Republican National Committee.
Sources said all the candidates received a goodź¦ response from the GOP powerbrokers, but š§Christie and Paul stood out.
āEveą± rybody got the same amount of applause,ā said one source, āalthšough the ones who got the most excitement were Rand Paul and Chris Christie.ā
Paul, a libertarian who built a national following after waging a fišlibuster against US drone strikes, āwas very unconventional about how Republicansā need to reach out to African-Americans and the young, and he was the only one who talked about that,ā the source said.
Christie talked up the impošrtance of his own effort to win re-election by a huge margin in November in order to maške a national statement.
āIām going to win my re-election in New š„Jersey and Iām going to show that a āredā guy can win a blue state,ā he said, accordinšg to the source.
The source added that Christieās remarkš¬s were āall about winning.ā
Rubš³io tried to win over the well-heeled group by stressing his humble roots.
āRubio said, āI was the son of a bartender and my mother was a maid. I was never angry at rich people, I never wanted to take it away from them. Iām proof that the Republican Party can appeal to the parents of working-class immigrantš parents,ā ā the source said.He said he never had class envy,ā said the source.
Ašmong those at the event were New York state GOP chairman Ed Cox, former Goldman Sachs honchos Ed Forst and John Whitehead, Pat Durkin of Barclays Bank, former Bush Treasury official Emil Henry, NASCAR CEO Brian France, Bain Capital co-founder Ed Conard and Texas Sen. John Cornyn.
Sen. Ted Cruz of Tš exas opted to stay in Wšashington. āDefunding ObamaCare is his priority,ā his spokeswoman explained.
One insider described the gathering as a political ābeauty pageant, with each potential ā yet undeclared ā candidate preeningš¦© before the powerbrokers.
Johnson, the heir to the Johnson & Johnson fortune, led Mitt Romneyās New York fund-raising efš¦fort in 2012, helping turn the city into a cash cow for the GOP nominee. He bundled more than $400,000 in contributions for Romney, according to OpenSecrets, a campaign- watchdog Internet site.
Several former Romney bušndlers have donated to Rubioās PAC.
Although Christie shares some natural constituencies wiāth Romney, many Romney backers were furious over his embrace of President Obama late in the 2012 campaign.