Thread: Carson campaign says it has outraised Cruz

Carson campaign says it has outraised Cruz

By Elizabeth Landers, CNN

Updated 10:18 PM ET, Wed December 30, 2015

(CNN)Ben Carson's campaign said Wednesday that it raised at least $23 million in the fourth quarter, outpacing Ted Cruz's fundraising total of nearly $20 million and likely placing the retired neurosurgeon's haul at or near the top of the GOP fundraising race.

Dean Parker, Carson's finance chairman, provided the figure to CNN, though the exact amount won't become public until late next month, when the next round of Federal Election Commission reports are filed. As of Wednesday night, Carson and Cruz were the only GOP candidates to disclose how much they hauled in over 2015's final three months.

The campaign also declined to say how much cash it had on hand. Throughout the race, it has spent a significant amount of money to fundraise by relying on direct mail and list purchases to build a low-dollar donor list.

But the fundraising figure, coming after a third quarter in which the campaign led the GOP field with $20.8 million, likely comes as a relief to Carson's supporters at a time of concern about the stability of his campaign.

Earlier this month, CNN reported that Carson's campaign was in crisis, and last week, the candidate himself pushed back against reports that said he was considering a major shakeup to his campaign staff, including senior staff assignments.

A CNN/ORC poll released last week found Carson tied for third place with Marco Rubio at 10%, well behind GOP front-runner Donald Trump and Cruz.

http://www.cnn.com/2015/12/30/politi...sing-ted-cruz/

Most of his haul is coming from evangelicals. However, that support seems to be on the decline.

Ben Carson's Iowa evangelical support is waning

• ByKYLIE ATWOODCBS NEWSDecember 8, 2015, 11:40 AM

The day before two polls showed his support waning in Iowa, Ben Carson spoke to over 1,000 churchgoers at the Cornerstone Family Church services in Des Moines on Sunday. God owns the universe, Carson said. "That is why I seem to have a calm demeanor all the time," Carson said. "[P]eople mistake that for softness, but what it really is -- is confidence in the Lord, recognizing that if God is for you who can be against you. It really doesn't matter what the issue is."

That kind of fatalism caused those at the services to describe him admiringly as "called" and "deeply religious," but he didn't appear to winning the unequivocal support of many members of the congregation.

"I can't say yes or no right now," said caucus goer Donna Jones when asked if Carson was her favorite GOP candidate. Jones, who has supported Mike Huckabee in the past, has not yet decided who she will caucus for in February. She stood alongside other churchgoers who said they'd "consider" Carson but also mentioned Trump, Rubio and Cruz as candidates who are also piquing their interest.

Two polls out Monday showed Cruz gaining in Iowa. In the Monmouth Poll Cruz surpassed Trump as the leader of the pack amongst Iowan caucus goers while Carson fell to 13 percent, a 19-point decline since Monmouth's October poll.

Both polls showed Carson's support among evangelical voters -- a group he garnered 36 percent support from in September -- in decline while Cruz's support in this lane surged. These voters, according to the Monmouth poll, now back Cruz (30 percent) over Trump (18 percent), Rubio (16 percent), and Carson (15 percent). Maintaining evangelical support is a key factor in the Iowa caucuses, since evangelicals account for about half of the Iowa GOP caucus electorate.

Cornerstone Family Church in Des Moines is diverse and nondenominational, with a congregation that is about half African-American.
Jill White, the mother of 8 racially-mixed children, stood in line to get a burger at the Carson campaign's tailgate after service. The West Des Moines native believes Carson could have a positive impact on her children, as a conservative African American leader.

"We should be considering African American presidents," White said. "We just can't have the one that we have right now." And further, she said firmly, "We need a Christian in office." And yet, asked who she supports, White said she didn't know yet.

The Carson campaign has been making a concerted effort with this group of voters, and the Church tailgates show that. The campaign bus, wrapped in the Carson campaign logo, and campaign volunteers go to Iowa churches almost every weekend to spread the word about their candidate. Last week, Carson himself also visited churches in the state, and he plans to attend more services in Iowa through the caucuses.
"One of the places where I am most comfortable is in a church," Ben Carson tells congregants across Iowa.

"He loves the chance to go to church. Unlike some other candidates who want to use church, Ben is someone who is genuine," explains Ryan Rhodes, Carson campaign Iowa state director. "It is where he wants to be."

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/ben-cars...ort-is-waning/

Apparently not where the money is concerned. I was surprised he did so well in the money raising arena.

12/31/15

Ben Carson's Top Two Aides Resign

Sounds like good riddance.

Republican Ben Carson's campaign manager, 20 staff quit

Reuters

- ‎5 minutes ago‎

NEW YORK/WASHINGTON
U.S. Republican Ben Carson's 2016 presidential bid was thrown into chaos on Thursday when his campaign manager and some 20 other staff members quit amid infighting, dropping poll numbers and negative media coverage...

Clinton campaign says it raised $37 million in fourth quarter

Published January 01, 2016 FoxNews.com

The campaign for Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton announced Friday it raised $37 million over the past three months to support her bid for the Democratic nomination.

The campaign said that puts her total raised in 2015 to spend on the presidential primary campaign at $112 million.

The campaign released its fundraising totals for the fourth-quarter on Friday. Clinton's team also says it raised $18 million for the Democratic National Committee and state Democratic parties nationwide.

Heading into the January sprint toward the leadoff Iowa caucuses on Feb. 1, Clinton's campaign says it has nearly $38 million in cash on hand.

The Clinton campaign says more than 60 percent of its donors in 2015 were women.

"Thanks to the hundreds of thousands of Americans who have joined together and powered this historic campaign, we are now heading into Iowa and New Hampshire with the resources we need to be successful," campaign manager Robby Mook said in a statement.

Clinton's campaign had set a goal of $100 million for the primary in 2015.

Clinton's rival, Bernie Sanders, did not immediately report his fundraising totals for the quarter that ended on Dec. 31. But the Vermont senator has collected more than 2 million individual contributions and raised money online at a vigorous pace, taking in about $40 million through the end of September and ending that period with about $27 million in the bank.

His campaign has noted that most of its donors have given in small increments — about $20 to $30 apiece — allowing Sanders to return to them repeatedly.

While Clinton has built a steady lead in national polls, Sanders remains competitive against her in Iowa and holds a slight advantage in New Hampshire, his New England neighbor which holds its primary on Feb. 9.

The third major Democrat in the race, former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley, has lagged behind Clinton and Sanders in fundraising and polls.

Helped by several fundraisers headlined by former President Bill Clinton, most of Hillary Clinton's money came via traditional fundraising events, where the price of entry was often the legal maximum donation of $2,700 for the primary.
The presidential candidates have until Jan. 31 to report such details to federal regulators.

Clinton isn't alone in releasing some selective details ahead of that schedule. Earlier this week, Republican Texas Sen. Ted Cruz's campaign said it had raised nearly $20 million in the fourth quarter.

Cruz's campaign said in a memo to supporters that he will finish the year having raised more than $45 million, but it did not disclose how much the campaign has spent or how much cash it has on hand.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2016...?intcmp=hplnws

Sanders campaign says it's raised $33 Million since October

By KEN THOMAS 3 minutes ago

.View photo

FILE - In this Dec. 30, 2015 file photo, Democratic presidential candidate, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., speaks during a town hall meeting in Ottumwa, Iowa. Sanders’ presidential campaign says it has raised more than $33 million during the past three months to help his effort to win the Democratic nomination. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders raised more than $33 million during the past three months in his bid to win the Democratic nomination, his campaign said on Saturday, just short of the amount brought in by rival Hillary Clinton during the same period.

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Sanders, a self-described democratic socialist, has now collected $73 million for the primaries through a powerful online fundraising apparatus that should help him compete with Clinton deep into spring. His haul will allow him to spend money at a comparable rate with Clinton, who raised $37 million since the beginning of October and $112 million during 2015 for her primary campaign.

"This people-powered campaign is revolutionizing American politics," said Jeff Weaver, Sanders' campaign manager, in a statement. "What we are showing is that we can run a strong, national campaign without a super PAC and without depending on millionaires and billionaires for their support. We are making history, and we are proud of it."

Clinton is the Democratic front-runner in national polls, but Sanders remains within striking distance against her in Iowa, which holds its caucuses on Feb. 1. Sanders is hoping to surprise Clinton in Iowa and then use his New England ties to defeat her in the New Hampshire primary on Feb. 9, where polls have shown him with a slight advantage.

The campaign finance estimates indicate that Sanders should have the resources to mount an effective challenge: His campaign said it had $28.4 million in the bank at the end of 2015.

Clinton's campaign, which spent about $75 million during 2015 to build a large data-driven organization, ended the year with $38 million in cash on hand.

Most of Sanders' fundraising came through online donations from 2.5 million people during 2015, a number that his team said surpassed President Barack Obama's record number of 2.2 million donations in 2011.

Sanders' average donation was $27, an amount that will allow him to return to his contributors for more money during the spring. Only a few hundred of his 1 million individual donors gave the maximum of $2,700 for the primary, the campaign said.

The third major Democrat in the race, former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley, has not yet provided fundraising estimates for the quarter but has struggled against Clinton and Sanders in both donations and polls.

Both Clinton and Sanders have raised money at strong clips compared to a large field of Republicans. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz's campaign said it had raised nearly $20 million in the fourth quarter and estimated that he would finish the year having raised more than $45 million.

http://news.yahoo.com/sanders-campai...-election.html