The Guardian and the New York Times report that Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH)

[No Vested Interest]

is among the Republican office-holders who have received campaign donation from the president of the Council of Conservative Citizens, Mr. Earl Holt III of Texas.
Sen. Portman is one of several Republican Senators, including Presidential candidates Ted Cruz, Rand Paul and Rick Santorum, to have received donations.
I expect that Senator Portman's staff will announce that he will return the money, but, hey, why and how did Mr. Holt pick out Rob Portman to receive his money? What was Holt expecting to get in return?
I understand that members of Congress spend a lot of their time calling individuals for donations. Is Mr. Earl Holt III on Portman's fast-dial?

[sgtbenobo]

1. The bell...

....is cracking.

Carry on.

[pogglethrope]

2. Being new to this, I will have to get up to speed.

Until I googled after reading your post, I did not know that Earl Holt III was a white supremacist -- which, presumably, makes the Council of Conservative Citizens a white supremacist organization.

Any idea of the percentage of white conservatives that are racists? How much does it vary between different regions of the country? Where can I find out?

[pnwmom]

3. Unfortunately, I don't know the answer to your questions, because they're good ones.

Since you are new, I'm not sure how much background you have on the Council of Conservative Citizens. Did your googling mention that that was the group that apparently inspired Dylann Roof's terrible actions?

[Spitfire of ATJ]

4. I'm sure the Southern Poverty Law Center is all over this.

[47of74]

5. I wouldn't be surprised if he kept the money.

[Ninga]

6. Extremely interested in knowing the date/year of the donation. Portman somehow

is a Teflon Senator.

[marble falls]

7. Darn good questions. Of course Sen Portman will be getting back to us on them in the near future.