There are two different kinds of money going to affect our election campaigns. The first is money donated directly to a candidate's campaign. This money must come from an individual (rather than a corporation) and there is a limit on how much can be donated. In addition, the name of the donor must be reported.
The other kind of money is that coming from PACs, SUPER-PACs, and other organizations. Many times the donor's name is kept secret (dark money), and there is no limitation on the amount of money that can be given. This money can be spent to further a candidate's campaign, but supposedly the candidate has no control over how that money is spent (and if you believe that, I have some ocean-front property here in Amarillo that I'll sell you real cheap).
The two Democrats leading the race for that party's nomination are the candidates with the most individual donations directly to their campaigns. Hillary Clinton is first with $45.7 million, and Bernie Sanders is second with $15.2 million. Republican Ted Cruz is third with $14.3 million, and Republican Jeb Bush is fourth with $11.4 million.
But when you add in the money from other sources (like PACs and SUPER-PACs), the funding numbers change radically. Jeb Bush streaks into the lead with $120 million, and Hillary Clinton is second with $67.8 million. Third place goes to Ted Cruz with $52.5 million, and fourth to Marco Rubio with $42 million.
These numbers are reported by the New York Times (who got them from reports to the Federal Election Commission).
Fascinating observation! Another way to look at it is the total amount given to aligned PACs. In that case, Clinton is fourth. This is a real problem. And I think what Bush is doing is clearly illegal. I don't expect anything to be done about it, of course.
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