Ben Carson, Hillary Clinton win last quarter's presidential money races
The two leading Democratic presidential candidates are crushing the fractured GOP field in the money race, according to fourth-quarter filings with the Federal Election Commission released Sunday. Leading all candidates in the last quarter was Hillary Clinton, who brought in $37.4 million, plus another $56.3 million raised in 2015 by her super PAC, Priorities USA Action (including $6 million from George Soros). The Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) campaign wasn't far behind, raising $33.6 million in the last quarter, plus, the campaign said Sunday, another $20 million in January, mostly from small donations. The nurses union super PAC backing Sanders raised $2.2 million in the second half of 2015.
On the Republican side, retired pediatric neurosurgeon Dr. Ben Carson had the best quarter, hauling in $22.6 million — but 85 percent of that was raised before Nov. 13, when his poll numbers started to slide as the Paris terrorist attack shifted the GOP's focus to terrorism and foreign policy. Sen. Ted Cruz came in second in the GOP fourth-quarter money race, raising $20.5 million. The frontrunner in the GOP polls, Donald Trump, raised $13.6 million in the last quarter, though about $10 million of that was a loan from Trump to his campaign. Here's a look at how much the major candidates raised in the final three months of 2015 and, in parentheses, the amount of cash they had on hand as of Dec. 31.
Hillary Clinton: $37.4 million ($38 million)
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Bernie Sanders: $33.6 million ($28 million)
Ben Carson: $22.6 million ($6.6 million)
Ted Cruz: $20.5 million ($18.7 million)
Marco Rubio: $14.2 million ($10.4 million)
Donald Trump: $13.6 million ($7 million)
Jeb Bush: $7.1 milion ($7.6 million)
John Kasich: $3.2 million ($2.5 million)
Chris Christie: $3 million ($1.1 million)
Carly Fiorina: $2.9 million ($4.5 million)
Rand Paul: $2.1 million ($1.3 million)
Martin O'Malley: $1.5 million ($0.2 million)
None of the other candidates raised more than $1 million last quarter. Mike Huckabee scared up $700,000, and Rick Santorum raised less than $250,000, including a $24,000 loan he gave his campaign on Dec. 29. Santorum reported $43,000 cash on hand, but debts totaling $167,000.
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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
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