The far-right megadonor pouring over $10m into the US election to defeat ‘the woke regime’

Records show Thomas Klingenstein is at the forefront of donors pushing polarizing politics in the Republican party

Thomas Klingenstein, chairperson of the rightwing Claremont Institute, has cemented his place in the pantheon of Republican megadonors with a more than $10m spending spree so far in the 2024 election cycle, according to campaign contributions recorded by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).

Klingenstein has been one of Claremont's largest donors for decades. As the institute has made its hard-right, pro-Trump drift in recent years, Klingenstein has continued to publicly describe US politics with extremist rhetoric, calling it a cold civil war", and has encouraged rightwingers to join the fight to defeat what he calls the woke regime".