Bernie Marcus, the co-founder of Home Depot, turned 94 years old last week. He can’t golf anymore, after experiencing some health scares, but friends say he is still as compos mentis as he was during the last decade of Republican politics, when the multi-billionaire made a name for himself as one of the party’s most ambitious, most prolific contributors. Marcus, who has gifted $65 million and counting to G.O.P. causes over the years, remains a top target for both Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis during this cycle’s shadow primary. But both camps are watching him warily, not only because of his deep pockets, but also because he may be a bellwether for the donors who learned to live with Trump in ’16 and ’20. Will they sign up again when, for the first time in eight years, other credible choices are on the table? 

And it hasn’t escaped attention that Marcus is proving to be skittish about backing Trump again in 2024. In his first public comments about the presidential primary, Marcus told me that, so far, he’s declining to make a commitment to any candidate. “I look forward to seeing the candidate field and will much later in the political process make my decision,” he said, through a representative. “In the meantime, I am focused on many of the issues facing all of us including the opportunities and challenges we see today.” (Whatever that means.)