Presidential election already fueled by $377 million

In this July 14, 2015, photo, Republican presidential candidate former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush speaks during a meet and greet event in Council Bluffs, Iowa. The 2016 presidential contest is barely underway, and already donors have poured some $377 million into it, an Associated Press review shows. Bush’s money looks different. Before he officially declared his candidacy he spent the first six months of the year raising huge sums of money for Right to Rise, a super PAC that’s boosting his bid to win the Republican nomination. That group says it has raised a record $103 million. Bush’s presidential campaign, which officially began on June 15, collected $11.5 million from contributors. Clinton, the Democratic front-runner, has raised $45 million in checks of $2,700 or less for her campaign. Priorities USA Action, a super PAC that counts on seven-figure donors, raised an additional $15 million. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik) In this July 14, 2015, photo, Republican presidential candidate former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush speaks during a meet and greet event in Council Bluffs, Iowa. The 2016 presidential contest is barely underway, and already donors have poured some $377 million into it, an Associated Press review shows. Bush’s money looks different. Before he officially declared his candidacy he spent the first six months of the year raising huge sums of money for Right to Rise, a super PAC that’s boosting his bid to win the Republican nomination. That group says it has raised a record $103 million. Bush’s presidential campaign, which officially began on June 15, collected $11.5 million from contributors. Clinton, the Democratic front-runner, has raised $45 million in checks of $2,700 or less for her campaign. Priorities USA Action, a super PAC that counts on seven-figure donors, raised an additional $15 million. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik)

By Associated Press July 15, 2015 4 min read

WASHINGTON (AP) – The 2016 presidential contest is barely underway, and already donors have poured some $377 million into it, an Associated Press review shows.

The first peek behind the fundraising curtain comes by midnight Wednesday, when most candidates must file their initial reports to the Federal Election Commission.

Those documents will cover financial activity between April 1 and June 30 and will list the names of everyone who gave at least $200. The maximum contribution for the primary is $2,700. The FEC reports also will show how candidates are spending their money -on consultants, office space, advertising, polling and more.

In the weeks since Texas Sen. Ted Cruz entered the GOP race in late March, the field of presidential hopefuls has grown to five Democrats and 17 Republicans. They’re traveling the country to donor dinners and pleading for online contributions in frequent emails to supporters.

The fundraising market is even more crowded because dozens of super PACs have been created to help specific candidates. Most of those groups, which accept contributions of any size and are subject to legal limits on how closely they can work with the campaigns, file their FEC reports at the end of the month.