Three billionaires and donors to Donald Trump’s presidential campaigns have given half a million dollars to the Republican candidate hoping to become top prosecutor in the former president's home county.
Sam Stern, a white-collar criminal defense attorney who worked briefly as a federal and state prosecutor, has raised a record-breaking $1.45 million in pursuit of the post. That's more than six times what the elected state attorney earns in a year.
He did so with the help of businessman Thomas Peterffy, hedge fund manager John Paulson and hotel and casino mogul Steve Wynn, who have donated a combined $500,000 to Stern's campaign in recent weeks.
Paulson, a leading defender of Trump’s plan to impose higher tariffs on imports, hosted a fundraising dinner with Trump at his Palm Beach mansion in April that raised more than $50.5 million for Trump's reelection campaign. Peterffy and Wynn, neither of whom could be reached for comment, reportedly attended a different high-priced fundraising dinner with Trump last month in Aspen, Colorado. Guests were required to donate between $25,000 to $500,000 to attend.
Their donations to Stern have helped fund a slew of television ads attacking the attorney's Democratic and Independent opponents, Alexcia Cox and Adam Farkas. They've also prompted speculation over whether Trump's proximity to the race has garnered national interest in an otherwise local election.
State Attorney Dave Aronberg warns of billionaires' bid to buy election
State Attorney Dave Aronberg, who endorsed Cox after announcing he would not seek a fourth term in office, said he suspects Stern's deep-pocketed donors don't want a repeat of Trump's prosecution in Manhattan.
"One thing we've learned about former President Trump is that he is transactional, and his strongest supporters may share in that," Aronberg said.
"After Trump was prosecuted by the local district attorney in Manhattan, is there a feeling in Trump World that having a friendly state attorney where he lives would benefit the former president? I think that is part of the calculation," he said.
In 2023, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg indicted Trump on 34 felony counts related to hush-money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels. Aronberg said those who perceive Bragg as a "progressive Democrat Trump-hater" may see the same threat in Cox, Stern's Democratic opponent.
"There's a whisper campaign among some wealthy Republicans that Alexcia is a George Soros-funded woke prosecutor, but nothing is farther from the truth," said Aronberg, for whom Cox has long been a top deputy. "The only outside billionaire money that has flooded this race is on behalf of her opponent."
Aronberg added that the $820,000 he raised during his 2012 campaign for state attorney set the race's previous fundraising record. Stern spent more than that alone in one October payment to the Republican Party of Florida, which can buy TV airtime at cheaper rates than individual political committees.
"It's troubling in my eyes that you have so much money coming in to support someone who has not worked in the (State Attorney's) office for 12 years," Aronberg said. "There's a concern about billionaires trying to buy the office for an under-qualified candidate."
On Thursday, a spokesperson for Paulson said the hedge fund manager donated to Stern because he wants a tough-on-crime prosecutor "who protects the victims and not the criminals."
"Palm Beach has a great police force but could be hamstrung if the prosecutor doesn't prosecute," Paulson said.
Sam Stern has vowed to pursue justice — not politics — if elected
Stern, who worked as a state prosecutor for two years before entering private practice, said his merit as a candidate has earned him support from both sides of the political spectrum. Attorneys Gregg Lerman and Craig Williams, Democratic candidates who lost to Cox in the primary election, both have broken party lines to endorse Stern.
"I have received bi-partisan endorsements from both of the Democratic primary candidates, as well as the Sun-Sentinel," Stern said. "Indeed, I have received significant campaign contributions from Democrats and Republicans who all share the view that I am the best person to lead this critical public safety office."
"Unlike Ms. Cox," he added, "I have not accepted contributions from convicted criminals."
Lewis Stahl, who was sentenced to 30 months in prison in 2019 for evading federal income taxes, has contributed funds to Cox and other candidates running for office in Palm Beach County, including incumbent Democrat Ric Bradshaw for sheriff.
When reached for comment Wednesday, Cox noted that Stern's donor Wynn, while never convicted of a crime, has been accused of sexual misconduct by employees. According to a 2018 Wall Street Journal investigation, Wynn paid $7.5 million to settle a lawsuit alleging decades-long sexual abuse.
“While my opponent has raised over a million dollars from a select group of wealthy donors — including from those who have faced serious allegations of sexual misconduct, raising questions about who he truly represents — my focus remains squarely on building a fair and equal justice system to keep residents safe," said Cox, who has worked as a prosecutor in Palm Beach County for 18 years.
With fewer than two weeks to go before the election, Cox and her political committee, Friends of Alexcia Cox, have raised $450,835. She added that 78% of all contributions to her campaign are from donors who gave $250 or less.
"It reflects the broad, bipartisan support I’ve earned from everyday people across our community," she said. "Not just a wealthy few."
Stern, like his opponents, has promised to ignore the political passions of his wealthy supporters and pursue justice for crime victims. He previously criticized the State Attorney's Office's handling of the charges against billionaire sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, who negotiated an infamous sweetheart deal with prosecutors under former State Attorney Barry Krischer's administration.
More recently, Stern criticized a plea deal that would have let Michael Wiseman, a Jupiter man who threatened to kill Trump and his running mate, avoid jailtime and a formal conviction as long as he completed an 18-month pretrial diversion program.
Stern called the deal "outrageous" and, in a statement to The Post, vowed never to permit "illegal plea agreements regardless of who the victim is."
"All victims should be consulted, the law followed, and dangerous people should not be able to purchase firearms if they threaten to kill and rape people," he said.
Prosecutors walked back the plea deal last month. In a motion to the judge, Assistant State Attorney Al Johnson said Wiseman "was erroneously placed in pretrial intervention despite being charged with a second-degree felony, which does not qualify for the program."
Stern added Tuesday that he has no affiliation with Trump, who once pardoned a client of his. The client, Dr. Salomon Melgen, ran eye clinics in Palm Beach County before being convicted in what federal prosecutors called the biggest Medicare fraud case in U.S. history.