Pawlenty leans heavily on Minnesota donors; Romney leads GOPers in fundraising

As the presidential campaign season heats up, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney has vastly outraised his Republican rivals, none of whom managed to raise a quarter of the funds he’s collected.

All data comes from Federal Election Commission July quarterly reports.
*Includes a $2 million transfer from Bachmann’s congressional fund.

Romney’s total haul for this election cycle is $18.3 million. So far, Romney has relied largely on big donors, with only six percent of his funds coming from people who gave $200 or less, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. While Romney did well in the usual states of California, New York and Texas, he got a $1.3 million boost from Utah residents, according to reports from the Federal Election Commission.

Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty raised $4.45 million, slightly less than U.S. Rep. Ron Paul. But Pawlenty relied largely on big donors. Only 10 percent of Pawlenty’s funds came from people who donated $200 or less; Paul raised half his money from small donors, according to data from the Center for Responsive Politics. Pawlenty is also relying heavily on his connections in Minnesota, having raised a quarter of his funds from citizens of the state, according to Federal Election Commission reports.

U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann raised $4.2 million so far in this election, although more than $2.5 million of that total was raised in her congressional fund, not her presidential fund. A $2 million transfer to her presidential fund on June 30 brought her presidential fund up to $3.6 million in fundraising this election. Bachmann has performed solidly in Minnesota, bringing in more than $60,000 from the state, which is still only about a quarter of what President Barack Obama has raised in Minnesota.

Even all the Republican candidates put together haven’t raised as much money as Obama, who has collected $48 million so far this election cycle. He’s also leveraged a much greater proportion of funds from small donors who gave less than $200 (44 percent of his individual funds), rather than the big donors that most of his Republican challengers have relied upon.