News Review – A New York hedge fund executive is behind the television ads aimed at defeating U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio. The ads delighted Robinson, infuriated DeFazio and brought national attention to the race and the fallout from a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that allows unlimited spending by so-called super PACs.
Robert Mercer, a Stony Brook, N.Y., resident and co-CEO of Renaissance Technologies, was the sole contributor for the ads placed by Concerned Taxpayers of America. The ads blame DeFazio and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, whom DeFazio has said in interviews he would like to see replaced as speaker, for “making a mess of our economy.”
