How much money have Bobby Jindal and Mike Huckabee raised for 2016?
During his first week as a presidential candidate, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal hauled in nearly $579,000 in direct donations -- though outside groups backing the 2016 contender say they have another $8.6 million to add to that number. He only spent $65,044 in that first official week, leaving him with over half a million cash on hand at the end of the second quarter fundraising period.
Jindal, who entered the White House race in the last week of the fundraising period, drew in $578,758 from just over 2,000 individual donors, according to a Washington Examiner report. About 87 percent of donations were under $100 each.
But with the support of a super PAC, a 501(c)4 nonprofit, and a 527 committee, the Louisiana Republican's presidential treasure chest is effectively much larger. Jindal's super PAC, Believe Again, has raised $3,7 million since January, while the America Next nonprofit has raised nearly $4 million. That's in addition to Jindal's 527 group, the American Future Project, which has raised $1 million.
Meanwhile, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee will report raising $2 million in this past quarter, with related super PACs drawing in an additional $6 million.
The $8 million dollars nearly matches Huckabee's fundraising numbers from his first White House bid in 2008. His last presidential campaign, which predated the arrival of the super PAC on the political scene, only had $9 million to spend.
In the Republican presidential field, the fundraising totals of other candidates easily dwarf the money raised by Huckabee's and Jindal's operations. In the second fundraising quarter alone, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio announced that his campaign had raised $12 million, with a leadership PAC bringing in $1.2 million. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, meanwhile, has just over $50 million from his presidential committee, with $37 million from outside PACs. At the top of the pack, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush has raised a whopping $103 million since January, via his Right to Rise super PAC.