WASHINGTON (AP) – Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton is dominating the money hunt in the 2016 campaign, collecting more big-dollar contributions than any other candidate in 26 states.
In nine states, including Illinois and Colorado, Clinton is pulling in more money than all the Republicans combined, according to an Associated Press analysis of individual donors who gave at least $200 this election cycle. Smaller donors aren’t required to be identified.
Retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson was the second-best fundraiser, leading rivals in both parties in 10 states, from Alaska to Nebraska. Republicans Jeb Bush and Ted Cruz and socialist phenomenon Bernie Sanders on the Democratic side were the only other candidates to top the money race in more than one state.
Some candidates, including Sanders, Carson and celebrity Donald Trump, are drawing most of their funding from small donations. But Clinton’s prowess for earning larger checks underscores her early fundraising advantage among the medium- and large-dollar donors who are important in bankrolling increasingly expensive presidential campaigns.
All told, the 22 major presidential candidates – including two who recently dropped out – have raised $274 million so far for their official campaigns. Clinton’s campaign alone accounts for 28 percent of that haul. The analysis does not include super PACs, the outside groups that can raise unlimited amounts of money. Their influence at times challenged President Barack Obama’s 2012 re-election effort.