Jeb Bush makes fundraising inroads in Chris Christie home turf

In this Nov. 20, 2014 file photo, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush speaks in Washington. Bush speaks Monday at the winter commencement at the University of South Carolina _ just the sort of thing a potential presidential candidate might do. He's also still raising money for his private equity businesses _ just the sort of thing a potential presidential candidate would never do. Bush has promised to decide whether to run for president "in short order," and the reading of tea leaves is reaching a frantic pace as the holidays approach. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

Jeb Bush’s  New York City tonight fundraiser is big.

How big? The invite to meet the prospective 2016 presidential candidate does not list contribution levels.

The event, scheduled for tonight at the Park Avenue home of Henry and Marie-Josée Kravis, is the second fundraiser held by GOP mega-donors in about a month. KKR, Kravis’ leveraged buyout firm, hosted an event at its offices on Jan. 8 with the potential candidate meeting with 80 backers.

Bush had arrived that day from Greenwich, Conn., where a crowd of 130 had welcomed the former Florida governor the night before, writes Ken Kurson of the New York Observer.

The events are part of a massive effort to court big-money New Jersey and New York financiers — right in the backyard of New Jersey Governor Chris Christie fellow GOP presidential contender — which included a Jan. 8 dinner, presented by attorney Larry Bathgate, a former RNC finance chief.

An event on Thursday, however, may be the biggest indication yet that Bush is dominating the Republican establishment. Sources, including one close to the Bush organization, told the Observer that former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger is scheduled to be the special guest at a lunch reception hosted by Bush’s Right to Rise Super PAC.

Cliff Sobel will also join Bathgate in a prospective Jeb Bush campaign, something that is sure to create a buzz in New Jersey. Sobel, a former ambassador to the Netherlands and Brazil under the George W. Bush administration, is highly coveted as a fundraiser with connections in New Jersey’s well-moneyed Republican network.

Sobel, Bathgate, and current RNC Finance Chair Lew Eisenberg make up a trifecta of New Jersey Republican kingmakers. As Bathgate commits to Bush, the addition of Sobel represents a significant achievement for Bush’s campaign as it takes shape and starts raising funds.

The Observer is now reporting that Eisenberg attended the influential Jan. 8 Bush fundraiser at KKR, where he was employed until accepting the RNC position a week later.

Defection of yet another Garden State power player is a serious setback for Christie, an indication that the power he once exerted on his home state party is slipping.

In 2012, while Christie was contemplating which GOP candidate to support in the presidential race, few were willing to rebel against the governor. The entire state GOP held back on an endorsement until the governor announced his choice, later falling in line to support Mitt Romney.

With that, the recent show of independence is even more remarkable; particularly since the candidate they are backing is not Christie himself.