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

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".

His spending puts him at the forefront of a class of donors who are explicitly supporting more extreme and polarizing politics in Trump's Republican party.

The largesse has already dwarfed his contributions in previous election seasons. The money has gone exclusively to Republicans, and has included seven-figure donations to at least four pro-Trump Pacs in recent months.

The Guardian emailed Klingenstein for comment on this reporting but received no reply.

Federal Election Comission (FEC) data is a lagging indicator: currently available data only reflects contributions made before early July, so it is possible that Klingenstein's spend has increased since the last available filings.

Nevetheless, Klingenstein's almost $10.7m in contributions during this cycle is already more than his combined giving in the previous five cycles stretching back to 2013-2014.