5 Big Reveals About 2016 Candidates' Finances

Ben Carson is the GOP's top fundraiser
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 16, 2015 5:43 AM CDT
Updated Oct 16, 2015 6:15 AM CDT
5 Things to Know from Latest Election Finance Reports
Trump hasn't asked for cash, but people are sending it to him anyway.   (AP Photo/John Locher)

The latest campaign fundraising and spending reports are in and they reveal a lot about which campaigns are richer or poorer—and which are in sickness or health. Some highlights from the July-September reports:

  1. Donald Trump is no longer self-funding. According to the latest reports, Trump only had to spend $100,000 of his own money during the quarter despite expenses that ran into the millions, the Hill reports. He hasn't been holding fundraisers, but his campaign says it took in $3.9 million from "73,942 unsolicited donations during this time period with an average contribution of $50.46."

  1. Bobby Jindal is running low on cash. He had to dip into reserves over the summer and started October with just $261,000, reports Politico, which has a full rundown of the campaign filings. "This is an election, not an auction," a spokeswoman says. "We are tied for fifth right now in Iowa and plan to win it on February 1st." The other two governors in the GOP race, John Kasich and Chris Christie, have more money than Jindal but a lot less than most of their rivals, the AP reports.
  2. Democratic candidates are raising funds a lot faster than their Republican counterparts. Between them, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders started October with around $60 million in the bank—about as much as all 15 GOP hopefuls put together, reports the Washington Post. GOP-allied super PACs, however, are believed to have a lot more money than Democratic ones, though they're not required to file financial reports until January.
  3. Ben Carson is the GOP's top fundraiser. The campaign filings show that he raised $20.1 million over the period, while second-place fundraiser Jeb Bush took in $13.4 million, reports the AP. Ted Cruz came in third with a haul of $12.2 million, most of which has yet to be spent.
  4. GOP dropouts Scott Walker and Rick Perry ran out of cash. Perry spent more than $1 million during the filing period but raised only $252,000, the Washington Post reports. Walker raised $7.4 million during the same period, but he spent it quickly and had less than $1 million when he left the race, according to the AP.
(More Donald Trump stories.)

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