Key Trump ally’s family to host Nate Morris Senate fundraiser at KY horse farm
U.S. Senate candidate Nate Morris is getting a boost from the family of one of President Donald Trump’s top cabinet members.
Zach Witkoff and his wife Sophi Knight are hosting a 45th birthday fundraiser and reception for Morris at the Witkoff family’s $12.4 million Lexington farm next week, according to a flyer for the event obtained by the Herald-Leader.
Witkoff is the son of current U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff.
A spokesperson for the Morris campaign confirmed the flyer’s authenticity to the Herald-Leader but declined to comment further.
The event will also feature another prominent name in Trump’s orbit: Vivek Ramaswamy, a former GOP presidential candidate and current frontrunner for the GOP gubernatorial nomination in Ohio will be a “special guest.”
Morris is one of a handful of Kentucky Republicans running for U.S. Senate in 2026. A Lexington-based entrepreneur and founder of waste technology company Rubicon, Morris has run as a fierce critic of Sen. Mitch McConnell, the outgoing senator he’s seeking to replace in 2026.
Beyond the Witkoff family, Morris also has ties to Vice President JD Vance and the president’s son, Donald Trump, Jr., who is a business partner with Zach Witkoff.
Morris was also endorsed by Charlie Kirk, the late conservative influencer who was fatally shot on a college campus in Utah last month. Kirk spoke at Morris’ campaign launch event in late June.
Like Morris, GOP competitors Rep. Andy Barr and Kentucky former Attorney General Daniel Cameron have all run campaigns fiercely loyal to Trump and his policy positions. None of the three have established any daylight between themselves and Trump on the issues.
Witkoff Family
Steve Witkoff is a New York City real estate mogul worth $2 billion, according to Forbes. He has a longstanding relationship with Trump dating back to the 1980s, when both were involved in property transactions in their hometown.
An LLC affiliated with the Witkoff family business bought the farm, named “Rushing Dream Farm,” in 2022 for $12.3 million.
The farm, located near the Kentucky Horse Park in between Georgetown and downtown Lexington, was described in a recent real estate listing as an “exquisite compound featuring three luxurious homes and two barns with a total of 26 stalls.”
The 60-acre property has been listed for sale for more than 200 days, according to Zillow. The asking price is set at $16.5 million.
As U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East, Witkoff has played a key role in the administration’s stance on the war in Gaza, as the death toll there during longtime U.S. ally Israel’s military campaign has eclipsed 66,000. Witkoff was one of several Americans tapped to help broker peace negotiations in Egypt this week between Israel and Hamas, the group that engineered a surprise attack on Oct. 7, 2023, killing roughly 1,200 Israelis.
The Witkoff name has also been in the news for other reasons. Steve and Zach Witkoff have faced scrutiny for their dealings in the Middle East following reporting from the New York Times published last month.
According to the outlet, Steve Witkoff advocated for the U.S. to provide the United Arab Emirates with valuable and scare computer chips used to power artificial intelligence at the same that a business led by Zach Witkoff and Trump, Jr. were seeking a $2 billion investment from the Emirati royal in charge of the country’s sovereign wealth.
Trump Jr. and Zach Witkoff’s cryptocurrency venture, World Liberty Financial, ended up securing the $2 billion deal. Two weeks later, the White House agreed to allow the U.A.E. access to hundreds of thousands of the high-powered chips, according to the report.
An administration spokesperson told the New York Times the crypto transaction was “totally unrelated to any government business.”
A late September New York Times report highlighted the recent efforts of Steve Witkoff’s other son, Alex, to attract billions in investment from the government of Qatar for a real estate venture. That deal, noted in the report as “another startling example of the Witkoff family apparently trying to profit off its patriarch’s proximity to the president,” did not materialize.
The fundraiser
Zach Witkoff and Knight, an actress whom Witkoff married in 2022, are presented on the event flyer as the primary hosts for Morris’ birthday reception.
Other people listed on the flyer include some heavy hitters in national GOP circles.
Yitz Applbaum is a board member of the Republican Jewish Coalition, a prominent advocacy group.
Robert Mosbacher is Morris’ father-in-law, a Texas businessman who served in the Bush administration. Heather Larrison is a former George W. Bush administration official with her own strategic advising firm in Washington.
Chris Lacivita Jr. is the son of longtime Trump campaign adviser Chris Lacivita, who is leading the charge against Rep. Thomas Massie in an anticipated primary challenge next year.
Kenny Troutt, the billionaire owner of Winstar Farm in Versailles, and his wife Lisa are also listed on the flyer.
Tickets to the event start at $250 per person for young professionals. A regular couples ticket is $1,000 and $3,500 is the price tag to become a host.
