Senators Marco Rubio and Rand Paul are two of the current frontrunners for the GOP presidential nomination in 2016, and both showed off their fundraising chops in the first few months of this year.
Doug Stafford, a top Paul aide, told the Washington Examiner last week that Senator Paul raised $1.5 million in the first fourt months of the year. That is a brisk pace of $12,500 a day.
Paul has picked up a lot of his father’s small-dollar donors from the libertarian wing of the Republican Party. His fundraising efforts have also benefited from his increased national profile, which came as a result of his 13-hour filibuster of the Obama Administration’s drone policies.
A Gallup poll showed Paul’s filibuster had a profound effect on public opinion across demographic and ideological lines. “Support for targeting American citizens suspected of being terrorists abroad dropped 13 points among Republicans, 17 points among Democrats, and a whopping 23 points among Independents,” Business Insider pointed out — further proof that the younger Paul is moving the needle in ways his father never did.
But Paul struggles, in much the same way his father did, to pull in large dollar donations. That is where his Senate colleague Marco Rubio has separated himself to this point from his potential 2016 rival.
According to The Run 2016, a blog devoted entirely to the 2016 presidential race, “Rubio raised $2.3 million during just the first three months of the year.” That’s a blistering pace of $25,555 a day, giving Rubio an almost 2-1 advantage over Paul in three-fourths the time.
“Many top GOP fundraisers believe Rubio will be the undisputed fundraising king for the 2016 GOP nomination, because of his unique ability to raise both small-dollar grassroots money and nail down the big checks from mega-donors,” The Run 2016’s David Catanese wrote.
There’s a lot of time between now and 2016, but Rubio’s proving early that he’s the fundraiser to beat.
In other fundraising news, the National Republican Senatorial Committee outraised the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee in the month of April, bringing in $3.56 million to the Democrats’ $3.54 million.
According to the Washington Post, “It’s the first month the NRSC has won this cycle, though the difference was small. The NRSC said it ended the period with about $7 million in the bank, while the DSCC ended with $8.6 million in the bank.”
Before we can fully turn our attention to the 2016 presidential race, we’ll be watching this cycle to see if Republicans can win six seats and regain control of the Senate.
What else is going on?
1. Shelby Sees Similarities Between Obama & Nixon Administrations
2. Alabama Should Push Forward with School Choice
3. Scandals Engulf D.C.
4. Rumors & Rumblings
5. Luther Strange weighs actions over IRS-tea party
Don’t miss out! Subscribe today to have Alabama’s leading headlines delivered to your inbox.