Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign now has more money in the bank that Jeb Bush, Marco Rubio, and Ben Carson combined, according to data filed Thursday night with Federal Elections Commission. And Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, a constant thorn in the side of GOP leaders in Congress, raised $12.2 million. All of them increased or held steady their average weekly cash intake over the previous quarter.
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Only the official campaigns face a Thursday fundraising reporting deadline.
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. If his campaign can raise $4 million without asking anyone for money, the mind reels to consider what he would raise if he did. Clinton’s campaign relies heavily on large contributions.
Rubio’s $10.9 million cash on hand ($11 million as rounded off by Rubio’s campaign) includes about $1.2 million in general election funds.
Mr. Bush raised about $107,000 from employees of various big banks, including Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, and others.
Billionaire real estate mogul Donald J. Trump, subsidized by a seemingly endless wave of free news and television coverage, raised about $4 million, including $100,000 of in-kind donations to himself, and spent slightly more, ending with about $254,000 on hand.
Frontrunner Donald Trump is mostly self-funding his campaign. No Republican was within shouting distance of Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton, who had $33 million in cash on hand.
Walker, sinking in the polls and having run out of money, pulled out of the race last month. Rubio’s $6 million was even outpaced by Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker’s total of $7.4 million for the quarter. “Six out of 10 primary voters are supporting outsider candidates”.
“I think we are in an unprecedented moment in the Republican Party”, said Ed Martin, president of the Eagle Forum, a conservative grass-roots organization.
“He’s been helpful raising money, he’s been giving me advice”.
How a candidate conducts their campaign, and spends their resources, says far more about them then statements on the stump. His campaign spent $4.5 million during that period, leaving him with a dwindling pile of cash that won’t cover another three months of campaigning if Paul doesn’t boost his fundraising.
“We’ve got over a dozen paid staff and 7,000 volunteers in the state”, Bennett said, adding that the total shows “continued momentum” for Carson.
One of the Democrats major structural advantages is the size of their small-donor bases.
Rubio’s campaign argues that it can make its money go the distance because of its extreme frugality.
Carly Fiorina gets bragging rights as well with $6.8 million, more than Rubio raised.
“This far exceeds the level of transparency offered by other candidates in the field”, campaign spokeswoman Allie Brandenburger said, “above and beyond the disclosure requirements”.
“Political endorsements mean nothing”, Giles said.
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That’s more than twice what any other Republican outside group had amassed by June 30, according to the most recent fundraising reports available for super PACs. The campaign told NBC Politics’ Alexandra Jaffe that total fundraising expenses hit $11.2 in the third quarter. Marco Rubio about $6 million. “There’s no money being spent in Texas right now”, he said.
