In the months before he formally announced his presidential bid, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida continued piling up money, pulling in $2 million from across the country and demonstrating the ability to draw the kinds of big-money checks that could be vital to fueling his run.
From the start of the year until March 31 – two weeks before his formal campaign launch – Rubio collected $2.3 million in contributions, according to Federal Election Commission records.
Among the most prominent of those was Las Vegas casino mogul Sheldon Adelson and his wife, Dr. Miriam Ochshorn Adelson, both of whom gave $10,200. The Adelsons’ potential role will go far beyond such traditional donations, however: They’re among the most influential donors in the Republican Party.
According to the Center for Responsive Politics, a Washington-based nonprofit organization that tracks campaign finances, the Adelsons donated more than $92 million in 2012 to conservative “super” PACs, which can indirectly support candidates; that made them the largest donors in a single election cycle in history, the center reported.
In the past week, Washington-based Politico reported that “ the billionaire casino mogul is close to throwing his millions behind” Rubio.
Beyond the Adelson money, Rubio’s first-quarter tally shows an ability to raise funds from across the country – and in big checks from top-level executives.
While the money isn’t technically presidential money – and there are some restrictions on how it can be used – Rubio’s first-quarter funds demonstrate his broad base of support.
“It shows what kind of appeal he has, and what kind of a network he has,” said Russ Choma, who analyzes money and politics for the Center for Responsive Politics. “He gets a lot of money from Florida donors, but he gets a lot of money from people all over the country. That’s a sign he’s got a team around him that knows how to fundraise and how to get money outside the Florida base.”
In the first quarter, Rubio had three separate fundraising vehicles: his regular Senate campaign committee; what’s known as a leadership political action committee, which raises and spends money often to help other candidates; and a joint committee that takes in contributions and funnels them either to the Senate fund or the leadership PAC.
The FEC data don’t include the leadership PAC, which wasn’t required to file its first-quarter numbers.
Rubio, a Republican from West Miami, Fla., declared himself a candidate for president two weeks ago, after a long buildup that in many ways started when he burst on the national stage in 2010. Even before his announcement, he was considered a top-tier candidate, despite poll numbers that ranked him lower than that. Since his announcement, he’s shot up in polls of Republican voters.
While Rubio isn’t expected to meet the fundraising prowess of former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush – who’s expected to lap the scattered Republican field with his money haul – campaign finance experts say he does need to show he can be competitive with other top-tier candidates, such as Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin, Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas or Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky.
During the 2013-14 election cycle – during which Rubio had no election himself – the first-term senator’s nationwide network took in a combined $14 million, FEC records show. His first-quarter totals kept him on that pace.
McClatchy analyzed the $1.7 million in first-quarter individual contributions that the FEC has processed.
Of that money, contributions from Florida were tops – $498,075, or less than 30 percent – but states far from his home base played a big part, as well. Second was California, with $380,540, followed by New York ($134,670), Texas ($130,300) and South Carolina ($107,740).
Most of the money came in big checks, with 48 contributions at $10,000 or above and 452 at $1,000 or above. There were just over 600 contributions total.
And Rubio’s checks are coming from the top of the corporate ladder: Among the occupations, about 100 of the 600 contributions came from people who were listed as chief executive officer, chairman, president or some variation of that.
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