Rand Paul raised $7 million in the opening months of his presidential campaign, sitting in the middle of the pack of Republicans who have so far released their fundraising numbers, his campaign said Friday.
Paul, powered by low-dollar “moneybombs” that catapulted him to the Senate in 2010 and helped his father win delegates in his 2012 presidential campaign, raised the millions from 108,000 donors who gave an average of $65.
The figures were first reported late Friday afternoon by Breitbart.
Paul is also considering running for re-election to the Senate, and the $7 million haul is split between the presidential bank account and a joint fundraising committee, which dedicates the first $2,700 of each donation to his presidential run and the next $2,700 to a potential Senate run. A Paul spokesman, Sergio Gor, declined Friday to say how much of the $7 million was raised by each committee.
The Kentucky senator’s numbers show that he raised money at a slower clip than his competitors, raising about $85,000 a day.
Paul also has two major super PAC’s backing him, one of which is led by several former Paul aides. But he reportedly has struggled to woo the big moneymen who are choosing instead to line up behind former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker. The Kentucky senator has placed a particular emphasis on courting wealthy donors in Silicon Valley.
Unlike some of his competitors, Paul has had almost the full quarter, which began April 1, to raise money for his official campaign. Bush, who officially announced his candidacy about two weeks before the fundraising quarter closed, currently leads the Republican field in those hauls, gathering about $11 million. Cruz raised $10 million in the second quarter, retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson cashed in $8.3 million and businesswoman Carly Fiorina and former Texas Gov. Rick Perry trailed the field with between $1 and $2 million.
