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Chicago Story: How 3 Top GOP Donors Are Approaching 2016


FILE - Dan Webb speaks outside federal court in Washington, Aug. 14, 2013. Republicans in Chicago exemplify the Donald Trump conundrum that many of the party’s top donors and fundraisers find themselves in this year.
FILE - Dan Webb speaks outside federal court in Washington, Aug. 14, 2013. Republicans in Chicago exemplify the Donald Trump conundrum that many of the party’s top donors and fundraisers find themselves in this year.

What's a Republican fundraiser to do in the Trump era? Three Chicago friends explain their very different paths this year, with one raising money for Donald Trump, another for Hillary Clinton and a third sitting it out.

Ron Gidwitz, Dan Webb and William Kunkler raised buckets of cash for Mitt Romney four years ago. This time, however, their party's nominee has sent them spinning off in three directions.

Gidwitz is hosting fundraisers for Donald Trump. Webb wrote a big check for Hillary Clinton. And Kunkler won't do anything for either candidate, saying he prefers not to enable "stupid behavior."

It's also a tale in miniature of the Republican fundraising scene in other parts of the country, too.

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