Rick Santorum supporter Bill Dore
previously backed the campaign of Democrat Jared Polis, an openly gay
congressman from Colorado.
Dore's $1.5 million contribution to the
Red, White and Blue Fund, which is backing Santorum's bid for the
White House, has helped keep the campaign alive.
According to an
NPR profile, Dore made his millions in oil and gas. Last year, a
French company bought his company – Global Industries – which
specializes in building offshore pipelines.
In a video on the Horatio Alger
Association website, the Louisiana businessman said an illiterate and
abusive father made for a rough childhood.
“My father suffered from
attention-deficit-hyperactive disorder, as I learned later in life
when I was diagnosed,” he said. “And it was hard for me to
understand why he would leave jobs; going from one to the next.”
Dore's backing of a Republican
conservative who is best known for speaking out against gay rights is
difficult to reconcile with his 2008 $28,000 contribution to the
Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. Polis also received $4,000
from Dore that same year.
Speaking to NPR, Lake Charles Mayor
Randy Roach said Dore is not motivated by politics.
“I would say it probably doesn't
matter to him what other people in the political spectrum may think,
because he's going to do what he wants to do and he's going to do it
because he sincerely believes it's the right thing to do,” said
Roach, a Democrat.