It’s filing day.
Every presidential campaign will file detailed reports with the Federal Elections Commission on Wednesday, highlighting how much money they raised for their bids and what they’re spending it on. These reports offer the crispest snapshot yet of what each campaign sees as their strategic priorities heading into the summer.
Most campaigns have released their top-line figures early — and the super PACs backing each campaign can wait to file their reports until July 31 — but Wednesday will detail the state of the Republican and Democratic races.
Here’s what we’ve learned so far:
Martin O’Malley raises $2 million
The former Maryland governor’s campaign said it raised $2 million in its first fundraising quarter, much less than his top Democratic opponents: Hillary Clinton, who raised $45 million, and Bernie Sanders, who brought in $15 million. O’Malley, however, had much less time than they did to raise that money — he only launched his campaign in late May.
“He is the only candidate who has actually gotten results on the issues progressives care about,” said top O’Malley strategist Bill Hyers in a statement. “We’re thankful for the support we’ve received from donors across all 50 states who are ready for the new leadership, progressive values, and a track record of getting things done that Governor O’Malley brings to the race.”
O’Malley was one of the last 2016 candidates to announce a number. His FEC report had not yet been filed as of early Wednesday afternoon.
Just $72 million … for Lee Mercer
There are 478 candidates who have told the FEC they are running for president, but only one who claims to have given his own campaign $72 million. A man by the name of Lee Mercer, a Democratic candidate, says he gave his own campaign $24 million once a month over the first quarter. Candidates can claim what they’d like on the reports, and there’s no sign that this haul is actually true.
$72 million is actually a bad haul for Mercer, a perennial candidate. In the 2008 and 2012 campaigns, he said he raised billions — not millions — of dollars for his campaign.
The Houston man’s employment could not be independently verified — he claims to work for the “U.S. Supreme Court, U.N. other.”