Joining us for today's show are Katty Kay, Howard Dean, Cokie Roberts, Kristen Soltis Anderson, Donald Trump, Jonathan Capehart, Bob Woodward, Robert Costa, Kasie Hunt, Kristen Welker, Hallie Jackson, Mike Allen, Sen. Bernie Sanders, Michael Warren, Sara Eisen and more in Taiji, Japan, a pod of Risso's dolphins has been pushed under the tarps. Their end is imminent. All of the Risso's dolphins have been killed, their bodies transferred to the butcher house. 2016-02-03 9:42am #dolphinproject#tweet4dolphins
Donald Trump Says Skipping Debate *Might* Have Cost Him Iowa.
Second place Iowa finisher Donald Trump appeared to be in an unusually introspective mood Tuesday as the race shifted to New Hampshire. Losing, looking back, and second guessing are not familiar components of the Trump repertoire, but during an event in Milford, New Hampshire, Trump admitted skipping last week’s Fox News debate *might* have cost him first place in Iowa.
"I think it could have been the debate. I think some people were disappointed that I didn't go into the debate,” Trump said. Lest you confuse that with admission of a mistake, Trump went on to say: “If I had to do it over again, I would have done the exact same thing.” Trump said his fundraising effort for a veterans group, which he says raked in some $6 million, was worth it even if it dropped him down a notch on the Republican leaderboard.
Donald Trump had every reason to feel optimistic Monday. His poll numbers were up; he had secured two prominent endorsements in the space of a week; and even the weather seemed to be cooperating, with a snowstorm coming in from the west expected to hold off until after midnight.
And then, he lost.
Trump spent January in full-on attack mode against Sen. Ted Cruz. Trump questioned whether Cruz qualifies as a "natural-born citizen" eligible to serve as president. He went after the evangelical vote, winning the endorsement of Liberty University President Jerry Falwell, Jr., but didn't back up the appeals with a ground game. And then he sat out the final debate, opting for a rally across town at the same time.
He acknowledged Tuesday that may have backfired. "I think some people were disappointed that I didn't go into the debate," Trump said in New Hampshire.
Exit polls Monday showed that 55% of voters who made up their minds in the final days went with Cruz or Rubio, while only 15% of them chose Trump.
Trump and his advisers don't have too much time to figure out what went wrong. With Cruz's win and Marco Rubio's much stronger-than-expected finish Monday night, Trump now urgently confronts the danger of the Florida senator chipping away at his establishment backing in upcoming contests.
The loss should serve as a serious reality check for his campaign, which is in large part based on bucking the traditional rules of campaigning and political engagement. Then again, nothing about Trump is conventional.
"People didn't talk about my second place," Trump said Tuesday night. "They didn't talk about it as positively as they should have."
In the air but not on the ground
There was nothing traditional about Trump's campaign style in Iowa.
From Day One, Trump showed little interest in retail politics and the intimate settings that have come to define presidential politics in the Hawkeye State. Instead, the billionaire jetted in and out on his private 757, trading in large rallies for town halls, taking a pass on the local delis and diners, and declining to sleep overnight in the state.
The Trump campaign remained tight-lipped about its efforts to get voters out, sharing little to nothing about its grassroots and volunteer efforts on the ground. The campaign swatted away reports of a lackluster ground game, insisting that its supporters in Iowa would turn out in the end because they were so eager to elect a non-traditional candidate like Trump.
It was only in the final stretch that Trump showed minimal interest in retail politics.
He began holding more than one event a day. In January, he made his first stop at a Pizza Ranch -- the famous restaurant chain that is a favorite among presidential candidates. Trump even slept at a Holiday Inn in one of his final weekends in the state.
Meanwhile, Cruz's campaign had been making inroads in Iowa in the old-fashioned way for months.
The Texas senator crisscrossed the state, ultimately completing the "full Grassley" by visiting all 99 counties in the state. His campaign developed a massive grassroots operation, that according to the campaign 12,000 volunteers fanned out cross the state knocking on doors and making phone calls. It also recruited dozens of pastors and county chairs.
Rubio, in the meantime, came on and surprised everyone at the end. After Thursday's debate, there were rumblings of a Rubio rise, which were tamped down by the Des Moines Register poll released two days before the caucuses that showed the Florida senator in the mid-teens, far ahead of of the others in the establishment lane like Chris Christie and Jeb Bush, but still significantly behind Trump and Cruz.
Rubio finished at 23%.
Hundreds of Rubio volunteers made phone calls to undecided voters in the days leading up to the caucuses, according to campaign aides. During those calls, they found that a good number of Trump supporters -- some frustrated with the businessman's decision to skip last week's Fox debate -- were switching over to Rubio.
Going after Cruz
Trump had an improbable run as the national front-runner for most of the summer and fall. Then, in December, he started to trail Cruz in Iowa for the first time. Up until that point, the two men had refused to attack one another, seeming to believe that voters would find a messy mud-wrestling match distasteful.
But at the first sign of losing ground to Cruz here, Trump swiftly reversed course.
He began to mercilessly attack Cruz, questioning his ability to serve as president because he was born in Canada. At every opportunity, Trump pointed out Cruz's opposition to ethanol subsidies -- a huge vulnerability for the senator in a state where farming and agriculture are hugely influential.
Trump also jabbed at Cruz's anti-establishment credentials, wondering out loud why the senator had failed to disclose large loans from Goldman Sachs and Citibank for his Senate campaign.
"The truth is, he's a nasty guy," Trump said in an interview on ABC's "This Week." "Nobody likes him. Nobody in Congress likes him. Nobody likes him anywhere once they get to know him."
It did appear that Trump's punches were resonating. At Trump campaign rallies, voters -- including those who had held generally favorable views of Cruz or were undecided -- questioned the senator's authenticity.
Cruz, who has tried to stay close to Trump without antagonizing the billionaire, finally hit back, calling his rival a man of "New York values" and blasting his support for eminent domain. Even then, Cruz and his allies seemed much more conflicted about the strategy and wary that it could backfire.
Playing for the evangelicals
Prior to running for president, Trump had a reputation for being many things: a ruthless, litigious businessman; a colorful reality television star; the ultimate Manhattan socialite.
It wasn't exactly the image of a Bible reading, church-going family man.
But on the stump, the GOP frontrunner sought to sand down those rough edges.
He's boasted about the success of his children and his parenting philosophy, including the unbreakable rule in his home of no drugs, alcohol or smoking. Casting himself as a devout Christian, he has taken the stage at campaign rallies holding a Bible in his hand. When he becomes president, the word "Christmas" would make a comeback, Trump promised.
Two consecutive Sundays before the Iowa caucuses, Trump attended morning church services in the state, even breaking from his usual practice of returning to New York City every night to sleep in his own bed.
All of this has been a part of Trump's months-long and intensifying campaign to win over evangelicals in Iowa -- a sizable and influential constituency with real power to sway the outcome of the caucuses. That outreach became all the more critical when Cruz -- the favorite among Hawkeye State evangelical Christians -- bypassed Trump in the polls for the first time in December.
Trump and his allies were hopeful that two major last-minute endorsements would help swell his popularity within this constituency: Falwell and former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.
Cleveland Pastor Darrell Scott, a Trump backer who spearheaded an effort to coalesce African-American pastors around the candidate, said it was difficult to overstate the importance of these endorsements.
Palin "brings a lot of evangelical support with her. Then Jerry Falwell Jr. was the icing on the cake," he said.
A religious leader like Falwell in particular, Scott said, was key to convincing undecided voters and on-the-fence churchgoers.
"In Christianity, the sheep tends to follow their shepherd. They will trust the wisdom and trust the decision of their pastor," Scott said. "So when my pastor thinks highly of him to endorse him, there must be something there."
In the end, Cruz still dominated among Iowa evangelicals: according to exit polls, he won 34% of the evangelical support to Trump's 22%.
The Fox News debacle
Ahead of last week's GOP debate, Trump's long-running feud with Fox News was back in full force.
The billionaire publicly grumbled about debate moderator Megyn Kelly, saying if she couldn't treat him fairly, he may skip the event altogether -- not the first time he had threatened to boycott a debate.
Fox News' response set off a political explosion.
"We learned from a secret back channel that the Ayatollah and Putin both intend to treat Donald Trump unfairly when they meet with him if he becomes president," the network's statement read. "A nefarious source tells us that Trump has his own secret plan to replace the Cabinet with his Twitter followers to see if he should even go to those meetings."
There was no bringing Trump back from this one. He was a no-show.
Instead, less than three miles down the road from the debate, Trump held a rivaling event to benefit wounded veterans. The venue was filled to capacity; political reporters were suddenly split between covering the Trump event and the debate; and the candidate boasted that he had raised nearly $6 million for veterans in a matter of hours.
But while Trump pulled off a political feat in only the way that Trump can, it was clear that the decision rubbed some Iowans the wrong way.
After all, voters in the Hawkeye State take their responsibly of being first seriously, and the debate that Trump skipped was the final -- and critically important -- debate ahead of the caucuses.
Saturday's Des Moines Register poll showed that 46% of likely caucus-goers didn't care that Trump boycotted the Fox debate, while 29% said they disapproved.
Steve Ziller was one of the 29% that disapproved.
A farmer from Belmond, Ziller was undecided between Trump and Cruz when he attended a Trump rally in Clear Lake on January 9th. Soon after that event, Ziller said he made the decision to support Trump. But that decision quickly got undone when Trump skipped the debate.
"I just think if he's elected president, he's going to have a lot more tougher issues than dealing with a female reporter from Fox," Ziller told CNN the day before the caucuses. "If he would have showed up to the debate and had a good debate, I would have been a 100% for Trump."
On caucus night, Ziller ultimately chose to back Trump. But it wasn't an easy call.
Asked whether the decision was difficult, Ziller responded: "Very." CNN's MJ Lee, and Jeremy Diamond contributed to this report.
Donald Trump: 'Ted Cruz is a total liar'.
Real-estate tycoon Donald Trump tore into Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) with renewed vigor at a Tuesday-night rally, the day after Cruz bested him in the Iowa caucuses.
Trump, during a campaign speech, repeatedly attacked his top Republican presidential rival on a host of issues, including the mogul's favorite attack line: Cruz's birth in Canada.
"What kind of people do we have running for office?" Trump said after bashing Cruz's honesty for a while in Milford, New Hampshire.
"No, it's honestly really, really dishonest. And I think I know why. You know why? Because he was born in Canada!" he said.
Cruz was born in Canada to an American mother, and most legal experts believe he meets the Constitution's requirement that presidents be "natural born" citizens. But Trump frequently warns that if Cruz becomes the GOP nominee, Democrats would sue and potentially disqualify him from the presidency.
"He gets the nomination, they're going to sue his a-- off," Trump said Tuesday.
Trump said this after seizing on a new topic with which to criticize Cruz: retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson's accusation that Cruz played "dirty tricks" on the night of the Iowa caucuses.
At the time, Carson reportedly signaled that he was speaking early Monday and flying home to Florida, which caused some Cruz supporters to publicly speculate that Carson was withdrawing from the race. Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa), one of Cruz's most prominent surrogates, wrote on Twitter: "Carson looks like he is out. Iowans need to know before they vote. Most will go to Cruz, I hope."
Carson, who came in fourth in the Iowa caucuses, blasted the "deceit and dirty tricks and lies" during a speech before his supporters there. Cruz apologized to Carson on Tuesday and said his team should have promoted Carson's statement denying the rumors.
US Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz seen after winning the Iowa caucuses on Monday night.
Trump compared the rumors with Cruz's running anti-Trump ads claiming Trump supported Obamacare. Cruz has gone out of his way to highlight Trump's past support for liberal-leaning policies, including on healthcare, but Trump has promised to repeal Obama's signature healthcare legislation.
"These are dishonest people, these politicians," Trump said, also attacking Cruz for a provocative mailer the senator's campaign sent some voters in Iowa. "These are worse than real-estate people in New York, I'm telling you. No, no, these are truly dishonest people."
At another point in his speech, Trump also implicitly accused Cruz of stealing his idea to build a wall along the Mexican border. And he further criticized Cruz and other GOP candidates for taking big-money contributions from special interests.
"If you look at Ted Cruz, he's got tremendous money from the oil companies. He's going to take care of the oil companies. He's going to take care of Wall Street, even though he didn't report his loans," Trump said, boasting that he was investing his personal fortune into his campaign.
"Now, those people are 100% going to — like a little puppet — they're going to take care of those interests," Trump added, speaking broadly. "With me, I have nobody. I just want to take care of you. I just want to do the right thing."
Chris Christie: Marco Rubio is like "boy in the bubble"
Chris Christie's tenth place finish in Monday's Iowa caucuses was about par for the effort he expended, he admits. It's New Hampshire that'll determine the future of his candidacy, though, and he was in a "peppy mood" in this final week before the Granite State votes next Tuesday.
Chris Christie's tenth place finish in Monday's Iowa caucuses was about par for the effort he expended, he admits. It's New Hampshire that'll determine the future of his candidacy, though, and he was in a "peppy mood" in this final week before the Granite State votes next Tuesday.
At his Bedford headquarters, Christie engaged in a little political punditry and gave reporters his sense of his opponents.
First, Marco Rubio, who had a surprisingly strong third place finish in the caucuses, Christie dismissed as "the boy in the bubble...who's constantly scripted and controlled because he can't answer your questions."
"He wants to say this race is over--seems to me he should have to stand across from you and answer the questions you ask him....It's time for him to man up, step up and stop letting handlers write his speeches," Christie said. "If he'd like to challenge -- I'd be happy every day. I'll have as many gaggles as Marco Rubio has if he wants to sit here and answer your tough questions about his flip-flops on immigration, [if] he wants to answer your tough questions about his lack of experience."
At an earlier campaign event, a breakfast in Nashua, Christie thought Donald Trump was probably having "a bad morning," and said he wasn't surprised at Donald Trump's finish in Iowa, adding that he'd been predicting for weeks that Trump wouldn't win Iowa. In Bedford, he said of Trump that "all we've ever heard is that he's first in the polls, he's first in everything. Now he's not. He lost last night, he almost came in third last night."
And then there was Jeb Bush, one of the establishment candidates who competes with Christie for the more mainstream voters.
"Jeb Bush spent $15 million and got three percent. So I spent $500,000" and "got two [percent], and he spent $15 million and got three, so I think you'd rather have me manage your money," Christie opined. "I think it went fine."
In Nashua, he also talked about the outcome of the Democratic contest.
"I think it was a good night for Hillary Clinton. You know, if Bernie Sanders can't win in Iowa -- and I think he could win here given his neighborly relationship with New Hampshire -- but if he can't win in Iowa, where else is he going to win?" Christie said. "I know it was very close and practically a tie and all the rest of that but the way it will be reported is, ...I think it was a pretty good night for Hillary and I think it will give her a little bit of a momentum coming into here, and I think because she won there, she doesn't have to win here."
He added, "Nobody really, like realistically ever believed she was going to lose to Bernie Sanders, right? I mean, we can't be that lucky."
Marco Rubio wasted no time Tuesday before pushing back on New Hampshire rival Chris Christie for calling him the "boy in the bubble."
"Chris has had a tough couple of days," Rubio said in an interview with ABC News at Puritan Backroom restaurant. "He's not doing very well, and he did very poorly in Iowa. And sometimes when people run into adversity they don't react well and they say things they maybe will later regret."
Story Continued Below
Rubio hit the ground running here after a strong third-place showing in the Iowa caucus. He had an early morning campaign stop at the Airport Diner and went on a full-court media blitz doing 10 interviews, including with all TV networks and CNN and Fox News and New Hampshire radio host Jack Heath.
And throughout, he tried to downplay Ted Cruz's victory in the state.
"Well, look, as we always said, Ted Cruz was the front-runner in Iowa, basically his entire campaign was in Iowa," Rubio said. "For us, we've been involved in multiple states."
"We've been doing that in multiple states and despite that we came just a few thousand votes short of being in first place," he added.
Later in an interview with CBS, Rubio said he thinks he's in a better position than Cruz to become the Republican Party's nominee.
“I think Ted’s been very calculated. He'll say anything to get a vote, so you’ll see him take multiple positions," Rubio said. "I do think he’s been very calculating, and I do believe he's willing to say just about anything to get a vote."
Rubio dismissed the suggestion that he was trying to manage expectations about how well he would do in the Feb. 9 New Hampshire primary. His campaign successfully tamped down much of the talk leading up to Iowa that he might beat Cruz in the caucus.
"I don't play expectations games," Rubio said.
And while he almost bested Trump in Iowa, Rubio believes the real estate mogul will continue to be a factor in the race. His campaign had hoped Trump would win the Iowa Caucus and cripple Cruz's bid for the White House.
"He's a big personality, he's very entertaining, he drives media attention. So he'll be here around a little bit longer, I'm sure," Rubio said.
Iowa Caucus 2016: Top GOP Spenders Lose Big; Jeb Bush Spent $2,888 Per Vote. In the battle for the Republican nomination, money spent on television ads in Iowa wasn't a great investment. The candidates whose campaigns and affiliated super PACs spent the most on such ads did not end up winning the race — and in some cases, the biggest spenders were among the night’s biggest losers.
The Republican presidential field spent a combined $43 million in Iowa on television ads. Over a third of that spending came from former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and a super PAC backing his campaign. Bush and his allies spent over $14 million on television for the roughly 5,143 votes he received — or a jaw-dropping $2,888 per vote, according to a review of vote tallies from NBC News and ad-spending data from SMG Delta published last week.
Bush finished behind Rand Paul, who finished better than expected with a fifth-place finish. Paul and an allied super PAC spent only $58 per vote.
Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who announced he would suspend his campaign after a poor showing, spent the second most per Iowa vote — $623. Huckabee’s campaign shelled out more than $2 million on television ads for the support of fewer than 3,300 people.
Meanwhile, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, who won the Iowa caucus, was in the middle of the pack in terms of spending. Cruz’s campaign and affiliated outside groups spent roughly $6 million, or $119 per vote. He garnered more than 50,000 votes — fewer than the total population of one Iowa state senate district, but enough to win the Republican presidential caucus.
While Donald Trump’s second-place finish in Iowa was perceived as a major upset for a man who can’t stand losers, the real-estate mogul saw a strong return on his investment in the state. Trump’s campaign spent $3.2 million on the Iowa airwaves, or $74 per vote.
And while former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum — who won the Iowa caucus four years ago — finished in last-place with 1,762 votes, he got a bigger bang for his buck than any other candidate this year: his campaign spent only $32,350 on the air, at a cost of $18 per vote.
Bernie Sanders raises $3 million in 24 hours following Iowa caucuses.
Bernie Sanders had his biggest single day yet for donations following the Iowa caucus on Monday, which he narrowly lost to Hillary Clinton. The campaign reported raising $3 million since Monday night, The Washington Post reports.
Four in 10 of those donors had not previously contributed to Sanders' campaign, according to Sanders communications director Michael Briggs."It's been our best day ever," he said.
In January, Sanders raked in $20 million, primarily from donations averaging $27 each. Jeva Lange
The New York Times reports about which Presidential Candidates Are Winning the Money Race
On Jan. 31, candidates and the “super PACs” supporting them filed reports with the Federal Election Commission on their finances through the end of 2015, providing a picture of how the campaigns and other groups raised and spent their money last year.
Millions Raised and Spent So Far
1
Hillary ClintonTOTAL RAISEDIN MILLIONS$163.5CANDIDATERAISED$115.6SPENT$77.6CASH ON HAND$38.0SUPER PACS & OTHER PACSRAISED$47.9SPENT$12.6CASH ON HAND$36.2OTHER GROUPSRAISED
2
Jeb Bush155.631.924.37.6123.764.858.9
3
Ted Cruz89.947.128.418.742.810.932.2
4
Marco Rubio77.229.7*22.610.431.717.414.315.8
5
Bernie Sanders75.175.046.728.30.00.10.0
6
Ben Carson64.254.047.56.610.19.60.7
7
Chris Christie26.77.26.01.119.515.73.8
8
Carly Fiorina24.411.36.94.513.08.44.8
9
Rand Paul23.211.510.21.311.77.64.4
10
John Kasich22.97.65.02.53.610.62.011.7
11
Donald J. Trump19.419.412.47.00.00.00.0
12
Mike Huckabee9.74.03.80.15.73.42.7
13
Martin O’Malley5.94.84.60.21.11.30.4
14
Rick Santorum1.91.21.20.00.61.00.0
15
Jim Gilmore0.20.20.20.0
Numbers reported to the Federal Election Commission and the Internal Revenue Service are shown in black. Figures that were announced to the news media but not officially filed are shown in gray.
ARCHIVED COVERAGE FROM OCT. 15, 2015
On Oct. 15, candidates filed reports with the Federal Election Commission on their finances through Sept. 30. The filings paint only a partial picture, however, because most outside groups supporting the candidates, like “super PACs,” will not submit their latest figures until Jan. 31.
Hillary Rodham Clinton raised $29.9 million for her campaign in the third quarter, just ahead of Bernie Sanders, who raised $26.2 million.
Total Raised by Campaigns in the Third Quarter (in Millions)
1
Hillary Clinton$29.9
2
Bernie Sanders26.2
3
Ben Carson20.8
4
Jeb Bush13.4
5
Ted Cruz12.2
6
Carly Fiorina6.8
7
Marco Rubio5.7
8
John Kasich4.4
9
Chris Christie4.2
10
Donald J. Trump3.9
11
Rand Paul2.5
12
Martin O’Malley1.3
13
Mike Huckabee1.2
14
Rick Santorum0.4
15
Jim Gilmore0.1
Half of the reported money in the campaign so far has come from donations to groups outside the campaigns, like “super PACs,” that are not subject to limits.
The 2016 campaign is significantly outpacing recent election cycles in contributions at this point, and the source of the money has shifted away from candidates’ committees, which can accept only $2,700 per election from individuals.
Total Raised (in Millions), Cycle to Date
Republicans have outpaced Democrats in raising money from unlimited donations. On average, the Democratic candidates have raised more limited campaign money than the Republicans.
Total Raised in 2015 (in Millions)
Mrs. Clinton’s campaign has $33 million in cash remaining, followed by Mr. Sanders. A lack of campaign cash contributed to the withdrawals of Rick Perry andScott Walker, who relied heavily on super PAC support.
Includes cash that can be used only for the general election.
Cash on Hand (in Millions)
1
Hillary Clinton$33.0
2
Bernie Sanders27.1
3
Ted Cruz13.8
4
Ben Carson11.3
5
Marco Rubio11.0
6
Jeb Bush10.3
7
Carly Fiorina5.5
8
John Kasich2.7
9
Rand Paul2.1
10
Chris Christie1.4
11
Martin O’Malley0.8
12
Mike Huckabee0.8
13
Donald J. Trump0.3
14
Rick Santorum0.2
15
Jim Gilmore0.0
More than 88 percent of contributions to Mr. Sandersthrough Sept. 30 came from donations of $200 or less. Donald Trump received 72 percent from small donations; unlike last spring, he is no longer self-financing his campaign.
Contributions make up a portion of a candidate’s total amount raised; they don’t include loans or transfers from that candidate’s previous committees.
Percentage of Contributions From Small Donations
1
Bernie SandersTOTAL CONTRIBS.$40.0SMALL DONATIONS88%
2
Ben Carson31.374
3
Donald J. Trump4.072
4
Rand Paul7.865
5
Carly Fiorina8.553
6
Ted Cruz26.345
7
Mike Huckabee3.242
8
Rick Santorum1.023
9
Hillary Clinton77.020
10
John Kasich4.412
11
Martin O’Malley3.28
12
Marco Rubio22.27
13
Jeb Bush24.86
14
Chris Christie4.24
15
Jim Gilmore0.11
Many of the lowest fund-raisers had the highest “burn rates” of spending. Mrs. Clinton and Jeb Bush had the highest burn rates of remaining candidates who raised at least $5 million in the third quarter.
Candidate burn rates are calculated by dividing the amount they spent last quarter by the amount they raised.
Total Spent by Campaigns in the Third Quarter (in Millions), and ‘Burn Rate’
1
Rand PaulSPENT$4.5BURN RATE181%
2
Martin O’Malley1.8140
3
Mike Huckabee1.4110
4
Donald J. Trump4.2106
5
Rick Santorum0.4101
6
Hillary Clinton25.886
7
Jeb Bush11.586
8
Marco Rubio4.680
9
Ben Carson14.269
10
Jim Gilmore0.168
11
Chris Christie2.867
12
Ted Cruz7.057
13
Bernie Sanders11.343
14
John Kasich1.739
15
Carly Fiorina2.233
ARCHIVED COVERAGE FROM JULY 31, 2015
On July 31, “super PACs” supporting presidential candidates filed reports with the Federal Election Commission providing the first complete picture of how the campaigns, super PACs and other groups supporting the candidates are raising and spending money.
Jeb Bush and groups supporting him have reported more than $120 million in contributions so far, significantly more than any other candidate.
The amount raised by the campaigns, super PACs and other PACs and nonprofits supporting each candidate, based on official F.E.C. filings and announcements to the news media.
Total Money Raised So Far (in Millions)
1
Jeb Bush$120.0
2
Hillary Clinton67.8
3
Ted Cruz52.7
4
Marco Rubio42.0
5
Scott Walker26.2
6
Bernie Sanders15.3
7
Rick Perry15.0
8
Chris Christie14.0
9
Rand Paul13.9
10
John Kasich11.7
11
Ben Carson10.8
12
Bobby Jindal9.3
13
Lindsey Graham6.6
14
Mike Huckabee6.5
15
Carly Fiorina5.2
16
Martin O’Malley2.3
17
Donald Trump1.9
18
George Pataki1.1
19
Rick Santorum0.9
20
Lincoln Chafee0.4
21
Jim Webb0
More than 95% of the total contributions to super PACs supporting Ted Cruz came from donations of $1 million or more, more than any other candidate.
Percentage of Contributions From Donations of $1 million or More
1
Ted CruzTOTAL CONTRIBS.$38.1SHARE FROM DONATIONS OF $1 MILLION OR MORE95%
2
Mike Huckabee3.683
3
Rick Perry12.878
4
Marco Rubio16.178
5
Hillary Clinton17.147
6
Rand Paul6.232
7
Carly Fiorina3.529
8
Bobby Jindal3.727
9
Jeb Bush103.224
10
Ben Carson0.10
11
Lindsey Graham2.90
12
George Pataki0.90
At least 23 companies registered as limited liability corporations gave more than $100,000 to super PACs supporting presidential candidates. The majority of these donations reported so far went to super PACs supporting Jeb Bush.
Donors can guard their identities by giving through limited liability corporations or other entities that are hard to trace.
Total Raised From LLCs (in Millions)
Super PACs and other PACs supporting George Pataki, Ben Carson and Carly Fiorina have spent the highest proportion of their money.
Total Spent by Super PACs and Other PACs (in Millions) and the ‘Burn Rate’ of Spending
1
Ben CarsonRAISED$0.2SPENT$0.2BURN RATE128%
2
George Pataki0.90.892
3
Carly Fiorina3.51.544
4
Bobby Jindal3.71.231
5
Mike Huckabee4.51.227
6
Hillary Clinton20.35.326
7
Rand Paul6.91.521
8
Rick Perry13.82.115
9
Jeb Bush108.510.310
10
Lindsey Graham2.90.25
11
Marco Rubio17.30.85
12
Ted Cruz38.41.03
ARCHIVED COVERAGE FROM JULY 15, 2015
July 15 was the first deadline for most of the candidates to report to the Federal Election Commission details of how they are raising and spending their money.
Hillary Rodham Clinton’s campaign raised $47.5 millionthrough June 30, more than any other campaign at that point.
Total Raised by Campaign Committees (in Millions)
1
Hillary Clinton$47.5
2
Bernie Sanders15.2
3
Ted Cruz14.3
4
Jeb Bush11.4
5
Ben Carson10.6
6
Marco Rubio8.9
7
Rand Paul6.9
8
Lindsey Graham3.7
9
Martin O’Malley2.0
10
Mike Huckabee2.0
11
Donald J. Trump1.9
12
Carly Fiorina1.7
13
Rick Perry1.1
14
Rick Santorum0.6
15
Bobby Jindal0.6
16
Lincoln Chafee0.4
17
George Pataki0.3
18
Chris Christie
19
John Kasich
20
Scott Walker
21
Jim Webb
More than 80 percent of contributions to Bernie Sandersand Ben Carson through June 30 came from donations of $200 or less.
Contributions make up a portion of a candidate’s total amount raised; they don’t include loans or transfers from that candidate’s previous committees.
Percentage of Contributions From Small Donations
1
Bernie SandersTOTAL CONTRIBS.$13.7SMALL DONATIONS81%
2
Ben Carson10.680
3
Rand Paul5.365
4
Ted Cruz14.147
5
Lincoln Chafee0.046
6
Carly Fiorina1.745
7
Donald J. Trump0.141
8
Mike Huckabee2.030
9
Marco Rubio8.728
10
Rick Santorum0.623
11
Hillary Clinton47.519
12
Bobby Jindal0.610
13
Rick Perry1.18
14
Lindsey Graham2.28
15
George Pataki0.37
16
Martin O’Malley2.04
17
Jeb Bush11.43
18
Chris Christie
19
John Kasich
20
Scott Walker
21
Jim Webb
More than 80 percent of the contributions to Bobby Jindal and Jeb Bush through June 30 came from donations of $2,700 — the maximum allowed per candidate, per election.
Contributions make up a portion of a candidate’s total amount raised; they don’t include loans or transfers from that candidate’s previous committees.
Percentage of Contributions From Maximum Donations
1
Bobby JindalTOTAL CONTRIBS.$0.6MAXED-OUT83%
2
Jeb Bush11.481
3
Rick Perry1.171
4
George Pataki0.370
5
Hillary Clinton47.563
6
Martin O’Malley2.063
7
Rick Santorum0.647
8
Donald J. Trump0.134
9
Lindsey Graham2.231
10
Marco Rubio8.731
11
Mike Huckabee2.028
12
Carly Fiorina1.724
13
Ted Cruz14.117
14
Rand Paul5.314
15
Lincoln Chafee0.09
16
Ben Carson10.63
17
Bernie Sanders13.71
18
Chris Christie
19
John Kasich
20
Scott Walker
21
Jim Webb
Donald Trump’s campaign spent $1.4 million through June 30, 74 percent of his campaign’s money at that point.
Total Spent by Campaigns (in Millions), and the ‘Burn Rate’ of Spending
1
Donald J. TrumpSPENT$1.4BURN RATE74%
2
Ben Carson5.964
3
Rick Santorum0.462
4
Mike Huckabee1.156
5
Ted Cruz5.854
6
Rick Perry0.752
7
Carly Fiorina0.742
8
Rand Paul2.840
9
Hillary Clinton18.739
10
Marco Rubio3.135
11
Martin O’Malley0.735
12
Lindsey Graham1.130
13
Jeb Bush3.127
14
Bernie Sanders3.120
15
George Pataki0.019
16
Lincoln Chafee0.116
17
Bobby Jindal0.111
18
Chris Christie
19
John Kasich
20
Scott Walker
21
Jim Webb
Hillary Rodham Clinton’s campaign had $28 millionremaining to spend on the primary election as of June 30.
Primary Cash on Hand (in Millions)
1
Hillary Clinton$28.0
2
Bernie Sanders12.2
3
Marco Rubio9.2
4
Jeb Bush8.4
5
Ted Cruz7.1
6
Ben Carson4.7
7
Rand Paul3.9
8
Lindsey Graham2.5
9
Martin O’Malley1.3
10
Carly Fiorina1.0
11
Mike Huckabee0.9
12
Rick Perry0.8
13
Bobby Jindal0.5
14
Donald J. Trump0.5
15
Lincoln Chafee0.3
16
Rick Santorum0.2
17
George Pataki0.2
18
Chris Christie
19
John Kasich
20
Scott Walker
21
Jim Webb
Jeb Bush’s campaign raised money from 30 of the top 250 G.O.P. donors through June 30, more than any other candidate.
The top 250 G.O.P. donors are those who have given the most money to Republican candidates and causes (but not super PACs) at the federal level over the last 12 years, through 2014.
Number of Elite Donors Who Contributed
1
Jeb BushTOP DONOR CONTRIBS.$86,000TOP DONORS30
2
Marco Rubio82,00027
3
Ted Cruz77,00015
4
Rand Paul36,00014
5
Lindsey Graham34,00011
6
Carly Fiorina27,00010
7
Ben Carson6,0004
8
Rick Perry11,0003
9
Rick Santorum11,0003
10
Mike Huckabee8,0002
11
Bobby Jindal8,0002
12
Hillary Clinton
13
Bernie Sanders
14
Martin O’Malley
15
Donald J. Trump
16
Lincoln Chafee
17
George Pataki
18
Chris Christie
19
John Kasich
20
Scott Walker
21
Jim Webb
REPORTS: Blizzard shuts down travel across Iowa, Nebraska; Severe storms blast southeastern US
Snow blasted the Upper Midwest on Tuesday and into Wednesday, even producing blizzard conditions at times. The heaviest snow occurred from south-central Nebraska into northwest Iowa with totals over a foot.
Travel across parts of the central U.S. was treacherous as heavy snow and winds made for slippery roads and low visibility. Major highways, including parts of I-70 and I-80 were shut down at times from Colorado to Iowa.
Meanwhile, thunderstorms became severe over the lower Mississippi Valley later Tuesday into Tuesday night. Strong winds and possible tornadoes slammed communities in Alabama, damaging property and cutting power to thousands.

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