Voters won't cast their first ballots in the presidential race until February, but donors have been making their picks for months.
On the Democratic side, Hillary Rodham Clinton a former first lady, New York senator, secretary of state and second-time presidential candidate has finely honed her skills as a traditional political fundraiser. Over the past three months, she's appeared at about 60 events where the price of entry was often $2,700, the maximum contribution to an official campaign.
They included large soirees in the Hamptons and Washington, gatherings at the New York homes of fashion designers Kenneth Cole and Tory Burch and West Coast money jaunts involving tech moguls. All told, these events netted at least $19 million, according to an Associated Press review of basic information about the events provided by the Clinton campaign. Her event numbers this quarter roughly equal what they did last time, when she raised $47.5 million once other fundraising sources, including online contributions, were included.
A super PAC helping Clinton has also ramped up its efforts. Aides said they've secured more than $25 million in commitments since July 1, money the group can deploy in advertising to help shape her image.
But like Clinton, Bush has a steady approach to fundraising. Since July 1, his campaign has held at least 40 fundraisers, including one in St. Louis on Monday night, according to invitations posted online. The documents his campaign files in two weeks will show whether Bush's spending and fundraising are in sync.
All signs point to low-dollar-fueled impressive fundraising totals for Republican candidate Ben Carson and Democratic contender Bernie Sanders. Carson, a retired neurosurgeon with no political experience, is expected to have raised roughly $20 million in the past three months.
Sanders, a Vermont senator and self-described socialist, has hit his stride in the progressive wing of the Democratic Party. He wrote in a fundraising e-mail Tuesday that he was approaching 1 million contributions online. And while his campaign hasn't previewed his overall fundraising number, one money drive alone netted $1.2 million. That amount came in when he lashed out at a pro-Clinton super PAC and turned the episode into a fundraising opportunity.
