By The Iowa Statesman
As the last of the candidates expected to join the GOP presidential race are finally hopping in, the volunteers supporting one of the first to throw his hat in the ring made a surprising announcement over the weekend.
Sunday morning, the Ted Cruz campaign released a statement the SuperPACs in support of the U.S. Senator from Texas had raised $37 million in the first six months of the election cycle. Combined with more than $14 million the campaign itself has raised in a little more than three months, Cruz has amassed a war chest of more than $51 million.
While nowhere near the $100 million former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush is rumored to have raised for his campaign, longtime political analysts say the figure is substantial for a non-establishment candidate this early in the campaign cycle. Campaigns and SuperPACs are technically not allowed to coordinate with one another, they are generally seen today as a necessity to help spread a candidate’s message throughout the election cycle.
SuperPACs do not have the same fundraising limitations as the campaigns themselves have. As a result, they generally are able to raise more money than the campaigns they are meant to support. Cruz has four different SuperPACs, working together, to raise money in support of what appears to be a fight to the finish for the GOP nomination.
In the statement Sunday, the Cruz campaign said, in a little more than three months, the campaign committee has raised more than $14.2 million in addition to the numbers that will be reported by the SuperPACs. That amount came from more than 175,000 contributions, with an average contribution of $81. Starting the second quarter with $4.3 million it raised in the final week of the first quarter — the week following his announcement event — that means the Cruz campaign raised roughly $10 million in the quarter.
Campaign finances are expected to be released by the Federal Elections Commission soon.
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