Jeb Bush and allies haul in over $100 million

The end of June marked the end of the second quarter of fundraising for many of the 2016 presidential candidates. All eyes have been on Jeb Bush, among others, to see how their fundraising strategies have been working and what kind of donor support they’ve been amassing in recent months. From all indications, it appears Bush is in very good shape when it comes to donations and cash on hand, though most of it within his super PAC.

Report from Politico:

Jeb Bush has officially become the $100 million man.

The Republican front-runner’s Right to Rise super PAC, which will take on an unprecedented role in tandem with his presidential campaign, announced on Thursday that it has banked $103 million in the past six months, exceeding its own ambitious goal of $100 million.

The group has $98 million in cash and is unlikely to truly begin spending its massive war chest until the end of the year, according to multiple sources.

The organization made the announcement on Twitter less than an hour after Bush’s campaign, which cannot coordinate with the super PAC, announced it raised $11.4 million over 16 days since Bush announced his bid for the White House.

Also flush with a healthy war chest is Ted Cruz, who will be reporting a $50 million haul. Report from CNN:

Ted Cruz’s presidential campaign said Sunday it had raised about $10 million in the second quarter. The sum is fueled by small-dollar donors, they said.

That means, paired with pro-Cruz outside spending groups, the Texas senator and company have raised $51 million since his campaign began in March.

Cruz, long dogged by questions whether his grassroots appeal would translate to enough financial support to win the Republican nomination, said it had raised a total of $14.2 million in the first two quarters. His campaign brought in $4.3 million in the first quarter.

His second quarter haul cannot be verified until Cruz files his report with the Federal Election Commission.

Many of the campaigns have yet to release their numbers, especially since some of them haven’t been candidates very long and didn’t have an entire quarter to raise money before mandatory reporting.

Update

More numbers from NBC News:

What the campaigns have raised so far

With the July 15 reporting deadline coming up next week, here is what the CAMPAIGNS have raised so far in the second quarter.

Hillary Clinton campaign: $45 million
Bernie Sanders campaign: $15 million
Jeb Bush: $11.4 million
Ben Carson: $10.5 million
Ted Cruz campaign: $10 million
Carly Fiorina: $1.4 million

What the Super PACs and 501c4s have raised so far

Right to Rise (Jeb Bush): $103 million
Keep the Promise groups (Ted Cruz): an estimated $37 million
Priorities USA (Hillary Clinton): $15.6 million
American Bridge (Hillary Clinton): $7.7 million
American Bridge 501c4 (Hillary): $1 million
Conservative Solutions PAC (Rubio): $16 million
Conservative Solutions Project 501c4 (Rubio): $15.8 million
CARLY for America (Fiorina): $3.4 million

What the combined amounts (campaign + Super PACs) are

Team Jeb: $114.4 million
Team Hillary: $68.3 million
Team Cruz: $51 million (that includes the $4 million his campaign raised in the 1stQ)
Team Carly: $4.8 million

Clearly, aside from Hillary Clinton, the big money is in the super PACs. Bernie Sanders did quite well bringing in $15 million under his campaign alone. Carson also not doing too badly when compared to the other campaigns.


Nate Ashworth

The Founder and Editor-In-Chief of Election Central. He's been blogging elections and politics for over a decade. He started covering the 2008 Presidential Election which turned into a full-time political blog in 2012 and 2016 that continues today.

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