Barron Thomas

Rudy Giuliani’s former rivals are already pouncing on his donors.

Barron Thomas says that in the last day, he has received calls from the Huckabee, McCain and Romney camps, seeking his money, and the money of his many friends.

He says that he’s still undecided and told me, “I picked Rudy because I thought he was the best candidate.”  read more »

We've been keeping a close eye on all the recent talk about Rudy Giuliani's attempts to bring some level of conservative nuance to his essentially liberal social positions on abortion, gay rights and gun control as he pursues the Republican nomination.

But what about immigration?

Giuliani strongly supported a guest worker program supported by President Bush and said during a newly interesting appearance on Meet the Press the following: "There isn't a mayor or a public official in this country that's more strongly pro-immigrant than I am, including disagreeing with President Clinton when he signed an anti-immigration legislation about two or three years ago, which we got some amendments of to protect the rights of immigrants."

Those positions put Giuliani in stark opposition to even some of his more moderate Republican supporters.

As an informed reader reminded me, Tom Kean Jr., who ran for U.S. Senate in New Jersey last year and is now an honorary chairman of the Giuliani campaign in that state, was loudly opposed to the guest worker program.

And Barron Thomas, the former Bush "Pioneer" fund-raiser and a promoter of what he calls Giuliani's practical, non-ideological approach, recently told me that he opposes John McCain (his home-state Senator) because McCain is too soft on illegal immigration.

Maybe there are lots of Republicans like Kean and Thomas who will be willing to support Giuliani despite their clear differences on immigration. But it will be interesting to see how he deals with the issue when it's raised by people who are somewhat less inclined to compromise.

--Jason Horowitz

A March fund-raiser for Rudy Giuliani in John McCain's home state is nearly sold out, said one of the event's co-hosts.

Barron Thomas, an Arizona-based Republican donor backing Mr. Giuliani said that the $1000 - $2300 tickets for a March 9th event at a private residence is Phoenix are nearly gone.

Thomas said that while a McCain fund-raiser on March 3rd "somewhere downtown" had lined up "all the high society guys," Giuliani's fund-raiser was attracting "blue collar and white collar" supporters. The guest list, he said, "cut across economic and cultural lines."

Thomas said that he had decided not to support his home senator because "McCain wakes up every day and has a new position." Thomas said that he felt McCain had flipped on campaign finance reform, and felt betrayed by McCain's support for benefits for illegal immigrants.

"At least with Rudy you know what you get," he said.

--Jason Horowitz