Hillary Clinton’s PAC, Priorities USA, managed to only collect a total of $5 million to date. Her staffers now blame the early uncertainty of her candidacy for the lackluster performance.
The dismal numbers caused a staff shakeup and Executive Director Buffy Hicks will now be replaced by former 2008 campaign staffer Guy Cecil. We will see if the change improves Hillary’s numbers during the summer months.
Meanwhile, The Daily Caller reports Sen. Ted Cruz’s four separate Super PACs raised an astonishing “$31 million in their first week” after initially filing last month. The haul is more than double Priorities USA’s combined raised funds and the additional pledges.
Surprisingly, Cruz’s fundraising reflects similar numbers from other top Republican contenders. Marco Rubio and Scott Walker have both raised double-digit millions in the first weeks after their announcements. Jeb Bush, who has not officially announced his candidacy, will be sure to tout an impressive fundraising achievements as well.
By extrapolating initial numbers, experts project that increased investments during the primaries could ultimately push the 2016 election into the 10-figure range for the first time in history.
Should Jeb Bush hit his stated fundraising goals, his campaign and affiliated PACs could account alone for 25% of the total. Although official numbers have not been released, some speculate his operation hitting the $100 million mark in the first quarter.
