Overstock founder Patrick Byrne fuels Jonathan Johnson gubernatorial campaign
Dennis Romboy, 20 May 2016
Overstock.com founder and former CEO Patrick Byrne continues to fuel Jonathan Johnson’s campaign for governor with unprecedented amounts of cash.
Byrne dropped another $250,000 into the Republican candidate’s bank account this week, bringing his total personal contributions to $400,000 so far. He also gave another $200,000 to Johnson’s Promote Liberty PAC, with at least $50,000 of that going to the campaign.
Donations to Johnson, the Overstock board chairman, from other sources since the last reporting period in mid-April total about $47,000, according to financial disclosure reports.
A review of Utah financial disclosure records for the past five years shows no individual has given more to a single candidate than Byrne has to Johnson, though some organizations have donated hefty six-figure sums to candidates.
Utah does not limit the amount of money a person may donate to a political campaign. Johnson campaign manager Dave Hansen defended Byrne’s large contributions.
