Clinton Leads In Presidential Campaign Money Hunt

These bars are sorted by third-quarter fundraising totals. Thursday was the deadline for federal candidates to disclose how they raised and spent campaign contributions during the July-to-September fundraising quarter. He has benefited more than any other candidate from nearly continuous earned media coverage. Ted Cruz and Florida Sen. “Thanks to smart budgeting and fiscal discipline”, the campaign bragged, “Marco Rubio for President started October with more money in the bank than Jeb Bush”. Bernie Sanders is the one major candidate who says he will forego a super PAC. Despite his political pedigree, Bush has lagged behind upstarts such as blunt-talking billionaire Donald Trump and Carson in early polling. “His ratcheting up in the polls has made it very hard for more establishment Republicans to get traction with donors”. The only problem, contributors aren’t listening. Trump donated just $100,779 to his campaign during the three-month period. People giving $200 or less accounted for a staggering three-quarters of his money. They lag well behind Carsons $20 million, Bushs $13.4 million, and Cruzs $12.2 million. In all, he’s spent $1,909,576 on his own campaign. Her biggest expense was for staff: $8.5 million went to payroll and taxes. “To be number one in every poll, both state and national, and to have spent the least amount of dollars of any serious candidate is a testament to what I can do for America”, Trump said in a statement. Bernie Sanders came within striking distance of her haul this quarter, reporting a three-day fundraising sprint worth $3 million after Tuesday night’s presidential debate. Cruz ended the month of September with more cash on hand than any other GOP candidate – $13.7 million.

The geographic distribution of donors also tells the story of a Republican Party without a clear-cut fundraising victor.

Sixty percent of the contributions to the retired neurosurgeon’s campaign came from small-dollar donors who gave less than $200, according to a filing released by the Federal Election Commission on Thursday, accounting for almost $12.5 million of Carson’s total quarterly haul.

Team Perry raised just $287,000 in the third quarter and spent $1.1 million during the same period.

Carson spent most of that money raising money.

On Thursday, Bush became the first Republican to reveal his bundlers – those volunteers raising more than $17,600 for his campaign – and the list included roughly 350 supporters, including former House Majority Leader Eric Cantor. The campaign told NBC Politics’ Alexandra Jaffe that total fundraising expenses hit $11.2 in the third quarter.

In all, the campaign paid almost $300,000 in consulting fees on expenses ranging from finance to media specialists.

In the weeks since the last date covered in the report, Sanders has continued to do well on the fund-raising front. Nearly half of the $6.8 million she raised was in low-dollar contributions, with donations spiking after her two lauded debate performances. Rand Paul raised all summer for his Republican presidential bid. The Paul campaign raised $2.5 million and spent $4.5 million in the recent quarter operating at an unsustainable burn rate of 180 percent. Combined, these new candidates raised $16.1 million. A pro-Graham super PAC, Security is Strength, has also been financing ads in the Granite State. Republican Ben Carson pulled in $20.8 million to lead the Republicans, while Jeb Bush – once considered the Republican front-runner – was a distant second, with $13.4 million. Since Carson relies heavily on small donors who give through direct mail, telemarketing and online advertising appeals, any dip in funding may imperil the financial well-being of his campaign – and the profits of the companies he is paying. Kasich brought in $4.4 million, and Christie $4.2 million. That’s less than Kentucky Sen. Christie and his aides had sought to downplay concerns that the campaign is spending at too fast a pace.

Walker, sinking in the polls and having run out of money, pulled out of the race last month.

“We are going to build on this formidable organization in the early states, increasing staff and resources there as we approach the caucuses and primaries”, Diaz writes.

But her top rival for the Democratic nomination, Sen.

Bush was once expected to be the strongest fundraiser in the GOP primary, but a sluggish fundraising quarter called into question whether his “shock and awe” campaign is sustainable without stronger support from the base. Still, the Kasich campaign has kicked off with relative frugality. Bush’s torrid fundraising pace slowed dramatically in the three months that ended September 30. The two are both governors with a few moderate stances and plain-spoken styles, so they’re likely competing for the same group of voters.

Clinton is sitting on just shy of $33 million, according to the new FEC quarterly report.