Jon Huntsman, the former Utah governor and U.S. ambassador to China, lent his campaign $2.2 million, half of the money he’s brought in for his Republican presidential campaign, new Federal Election Commission reports show.
His first disclosure report as a presidential candidate shows Huntsman raised $2.2 million from donors through September, and had $327,615 in the bank as of Sept. 30. He reported spending $4.2 million and owing another $896,113. Huntsman was not required to file a second quarter report in July because he entered the primary race on June 14.
Huntsman’s report helps explain why he decided last month to close his Florida headquarters and move the campaign operation to less expensive New Hampshire, a must-win for his hopes of staying in the presidential contest.
Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney reported that he raised $14.2 million from July to September. Texas Governor Rick Perry announced Oct. 5 that his campaign had raised more than $17 million in the third quarter. Representative Ron Paul of Texas said he had taken in more than $8 million.
Romney Cash
Romney had led all Republican contenders by raising $18.3 million from April to June. To date, he has taken in $33.6 million, all for the primary race, and had $14.7 million in the bank as of Sept. 30, FEC filings show. He has spent $18 million, including $12.3 million from July through September.
Romney reported $2 million in donations of $200 or less, 14 percent, more than double the 6 percent of small donations he received during the second quarter, according to the Campaign Finance Institute, a Washington-based research group. The campaign said it received money from 55,947 contributors in the third quarter. Lobbyists raised $479,660 for him.
“This is just the start of the effort to help fuel Mitt Romney’s message that will defeat President Obama next November,” said Romney’s national finance chairman, Spencer Zwick, in an e-mailed statement.
In his unsuccessful 2008 presidential bid, Romney spent $44.7 million of his own money on his campaign. He has yet to make a loan to his candidacy this cycle.
Obama Fundraising
President Barack Obama’s campaign raised $42.1 million from July through September, including $9 million from a joint fundraising committee with the Democratic National Committee, FEC filings show. He has raised $88 million for his re-election and spent $29 million. Obama reported $61.4 million in the bank.
That is the second-most ever raised during a six month span in a non-election year, trailing the $98 million that President George W. Bush raised from July through December 2003. Unlike Bush, Obama is raising money for the general election as well as the primary.
Obama’s campaign released an updated list of bundlers, those raising at least $50,000. He is the only candidate identifying all of his major fundraisers, those who solicit donations from friends and bundle the donations to the campaign.
Overall, Obama’s bundler ranks rose to 351, up from 244 fundraisers reported in the second quarter. The number of those bringing in the biggest sums, more than $500,000, rose to 41 from 27 in June.
New additions include two veteran fundraisers who helped raise more than $500,000 for Obama’s 2008 campaign -- Robert Wolf, chairman of UBS Americas, and Matthew Barzun, the 2012 campaign’s national finance chairman and former U.S. ambassador to Sweden. Kenneth Solomon, chief executive officer of the Tennis Channel Inc., who brought in between $100,000 and $200,000 in the last campaign, has also signed up for a second fundraising stint.
Former Louisiana Governor Buddy Roemer, one of the long- shots seeking the Republican nomination, reported that he raised $127,521 and lent his campaign $10,000.
Tim Pawlenty, the former Minnesota governor who withdrew from the Republican race in August, reported a campaign debt of $453,842. He wound up raising $5.5 million for his campaign.
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