WASHINGTON—A collection of top GOP operatives, financed by prominent Republican donors, is launching two new groups to take aim at Democratic presidential frontrunner Hillary Clinton.
The groups—Future45, a super PAC, and 45Committee, an issue-advocacy organization—are designed to seize on issues that emerge in the campaign or comments Mrs. Clinton makes and quickly assemble ads that will run both online and on television. Organizers...
WASHINGTON—A collection of top GOP operatives, financed by prominent Republican donors, is launching two new groups to take aim at Democratic presidential frontrunner Hillary Clinton.
The groups—Future45, a super PAC, and 45Committee, an issue-advocacy organization—are designed to seize on issues that emerge in the campaign or comments Mrs. Clinton makes and quickly assemble ads that will run both online and on television. Organizers are hoping the groups will become something of an experimental, quick-strike vehicle to see what messages and tactics work.
Both entities will be bankrolled by some of the biggest donors to Republican candidates and causes, including hedge-fund billionaires Ken Griffin and Paul Singer and the family of TD Ameritrade founder Joe Ricketts, whose wife, Marlene, donated more than $5 million to super PACs backing candidates in the first half of the year. Ron Weiser, a former finance chairman at the Republican National Committee, will serve as chairman of Future45, heading up the group’s fundraising efforts.
The organizations are “focused on holding Secretary Clinton accountable by making certain that the American public has the full breadth of information on Secretary Clinton’s failures,” said Mr. Weiser.
Mrs. Clinton’s campaign didn’t return a request for comment.
Future45 and the 45Committee, both references to the numerical ranking of the next president, enter the fray as Mrs. Clinton regains her perch as the clear favorite to be the next Democratic presidential nominee. Republicans, meanwhile, face a grueling nominating process that may not be resolved until the spring, giving Mrs. Clinton time to establish herself with general-election voters long before her GOP rival is known.
“There’s a lot more certainty in the Democratic field,” said Brian Walsh, president of Future45, referring to Mrs. Clinton’s strong performance in the party’s first primary debate, her recent appearance before a House panel investigating the attack on a U.S. diplomatic post in Benghazi, Libya, and the decision by Vice President Joe Biden not to challenge her.
“She is the clear favorite to be the next Democratic nominee, so she is now the focus,” Mr. Walsh continued. “Her integrity, her honesty, her judgment and her performance will be litigated more thoroughly moving forward.”
The groups say their goal is to complement work already being done by outside organizations that back Republican candidates, including American Crossroads, America Rising and entities founded by billionaire industrialists Charles and David Koch. Future45 enters the fray this week with a television spot targeting Mrs. Clinton and will operate like an idea incubator.
“We’re not here to replicate,” Mr. Walsh said. “We want to try new things. If we learn something that works, we’re going to share it with others.”
A source close to both groups said a number of donors have committed millions of dollars to the effort.
Donors have been urging the GOP candidates to keep the pressure on Mrs. Clinton—not just each other—in coming months. That has prompted some fundraisers to throw their support behind campaigns earlier than expected to speed up the GOP nomination process.
Texas tech billionaire Darwin Deason and his family had hoped to wait until later this year to back a new candidate, after their first choice—former Texas Gov. Rick Perry —dropped out of the race in September. But with momentum coalescing behind Mrs. Clinton following Mr. Biden’s announcement, they felt their time was running out. They decided in recent weeks to back Texas Sen. Ted Cruz.
“Hillary is kind of starting to dominate the Democratic side,” said Doug Deason, Mr. Deason’s son. “It’s pretty obvious that unless something happens to her with this email scandal that she’s going to become the nominee.” Mr. Cruz, he said, is best-equipped to face Mrs. Clinton in the general election. (As for Republican Ben Carson, who is surging in national polling, Mr. Deason said Mrs. Clinton would “eat his lunch.”)
The Deasons have already given the maximum—$2,700 for the primary—to Mr. Cruz’s campaign, and Mr. Deason said they would likely make a “substantial” donation to his super PAC. The Deasons gave $5 million to the pro-Perry super PAC earlier this year, the bulk of which has been refunded.
Some donors said they hope Mrs. Clinton’s solid standing will pressure Republicans to draw policy contrasts with her, elevating a primary that has been rife with character bashing.
Stanley Hubbard, a Minnesota media mogul who supported Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker before his departure from the primary, has since given to five other GOP candidates. He said the field needs to “not get sucked into personality contests with [presidential candidate Donald] Trump. ” That, he said, “helps Hillary because it’s taking the focus off of the problems that our country has.”
Write to Rebecca Ballhaus at Rebecca.Ballhaus@wsj.com