The son of one former president and brother of another, former Florida Governor Jeb Bush announced his bid for the Republican nomination on June 15.
Advertisement
Carson spent most of that money raising money. Carson pulled in $20 million, but he wasn’t the second-best fundraiser. Ted Cruz (Texas), with $12.2 million; former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina, with $6.8 million; and Sen.
Bush has $10 million cash-on-hand, the campaign aide said.
The $13.4 million raised by Bush in the third quarter compared with $14.2 million raised in the same period in 2011 by the eventual 2012 Republican nominee, Mitt Romney, the Bush campaign said. But he trails badly both nationally and in the first caucus state of Iowa, whose results often influence New Hampshire’s voting just eight days later.
For Bush supporters, the ace in the hole could be Right to Rise United States of America, the super-PAC he helped launch before becoming a candidate.
“We knew from the start this was going to be a hard-fought and close race, but few could have anticipated just how volatile this field would be”, Diaz said. But rivals were jumped on the number – especially the cash on hand – as another sign of Bush’s vulnerability. But he’s not falling behind when it comes to raking in money for his campaign. Rubio also has been aggressively courting major donors, including Wall Street executives and casino magnate Sheldon Adelson. The campaign boasted that they used UberX for campaign transportation and used budget airlines for campaign travel.
Former congressman Lincoln Diaz-Balart, who represented Florida’s 21st Congressional District between 1993 and 2011 and current chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Leadership Institute (CHLI), is among the dozens of Floridians supporting Bush.
That’s a reference to a nonprofit that has already financed four TV ads featuring Rubio.
Those groups – which, unlike campaigns, can accept unlimited contributions from donors – cannot formally work with the candidates, but are stacked with trusted advisers. Rubio is also getting a boost from a nonprofit group that doesn’t disclose its donors. Combined, these new candidates raised $16.1 million. Bush, an avid golfer who’s 6-foot-3, has been on the low-carb Paleo diet for most of the past year.
Advertisement
Jeb Bush Jr. visited New York University on Thursday to rally young voters to support his father’s presidential campaign, saying Barack Obama won past elections in part because the Democrat “kicked conservatives’ butts” when it came to getting out the vote on college campuses. Overall, Republican candidates pulled in more than $84 million, while Democratic candidates raised at least $57 million. Critics say the disclosure is not very useful.
