Peter Schorsch
Marco Rubio has raised more than $12 million for his White House bid, his campaign said.
The Florida senator is one of an expected 17 Republican presidential candidates, and most of them are due to report their initial fundraising to federal regulators by Wednesday.
Rubio also has the support of two outside groups that can accept unlimited donations. The groups are a super PAC and a nonprofit policy group, both called Conservative Solutions and the groups say they’ve raised an additional $32 million.
The money for Rubio’s official campaign comes from all 50 states, and contributors are limited to checks of no more than $2,700. Rubio transferred about $3.3 million from his Senate re-election bid into his presidential account, his campaign said.
There’s lots of competition on the fundraising front. Fellow Florida politician Jeb Bush, a former governor, raised a record $114.4 million since January, and Texas Senator Ted Cruz’s supporters have given $52 million to his presidential effort.
In each case, the overwhelming majority raised went to outside groups that face legal restrictions on how much they can help the candidates.
The pro-Rubio super PAC will report its fundraising details, including contributor names, to the Federal Election Commission by the end of the month. However, the fundraising total for the allied nonprofit, reportedly about half of the $32 million raised by outside groups, can’t be confirmed because it does not file paperwork with the FEC and keeps donor names secret.
Other presidential hopefuls who have publicly disclosed fundraising information so far include retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson who raised $10.5 million for his campaign and Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul at $7 million. On the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton says she has raised $45 million for her campaign and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders $15 million.
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Republished with permission of the Associated Press.
