Awaiting Presidential nominations, hopefuls see cash flow

Trump’s fans seem happy to oblige him. The New York businessman’s quest to become the Republican party’s presidential nominee has attracted massive crowds but only a trickle of donations, the disclosures filed with the U.S. Federal Election Commission show. 

He raised just $2.6 million from donors in the last three months of 2015. Three quarters of that money came from sales of merchandise like baseball caps bearing his campaign slogan “Make America Great Again,” while only about $540,000 came from individuals giving more than $200. Most of his Republican rivals have raised far more.

His nearest rival, Senator Ted Cruz, raised $20.5 million, while former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, who was once the front runner but has fallen sharply in the polls, raised $7 million. Yet Trump still leads in every national poll as voters in Iowa prepare to gather for the country’s nominating contest on Monday. 

The moneybags: 

Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign has said it raised more than USD 20 million in January, mostly from small donors, in what it called a “powerful demonstration” of grassroots support. That would represent a dramatic acceleration in fund-raising by the Democratic presidential candidate from Vermont, who averaged raising about USD 11 million a month in the last quarter of 2015 -- USD 33 million for the period -- and it would indicate an ability to stay in the US race for the longer haul. His main rival Hillary Clinton, who has not released January figures, said Sunday that she raised USD 37 million in last year’s fourth quarter. Clinton’s campaign said for all of 2015, she raised USD 112 million -- the most ever of any non-incumbent candidate. 

She has set a goal for the first quarter of this year of USD 50 million, and has aggressively stepped up fund-raising efforts, deploying her husband Bill Clinton, her daughter Chelsea, and other high-profile surrogates. However, the focus now is nomination.