More than half a dozen major Republican candidates have now withdrawn from the party's presidential primary after campaigning, and allied super PACs have made unsuccessful electoral bids, according to Federal Election Commission (FEC) filings. In total, they spent more than $300 million.
presidential election campaign Ron desantis, Doug Burgum, Tim Scott, Asa Hutchinson, Vivek Ramaswamy, chris christie, mike pence and francis suarezAlong with the super PACs that backed them, they spent at least $327 million during the 2024 election cycle, according to FEC records. Mr. DeSantis is the latest candidate to drop out, and his presidential campaign cost the Florida Governor's Campaign Committee about $160 million. never back downa super PAC backed his candidacy.
Former DeSantis staffers cited a lack of organization, inexperienced leadership, a poor communications strategy and stalled micromanagement as issues plaguing the campaign, The Daily Caller previously reported. Multiple staffers pointed to the Florida governor's launch of a virtual campaign via his X as an early sign that the campaign was not going well due to connectivity issues.
Vivek Ramaswamy's campaign is the second-highest of any failed Republican presidential candidate, with $35.5 million spent on his campaign and American Exceptionalism PAC, the major super PAC supporting him. , Spending An additional $8.4 million will be added, according to the FEC filing.
A spokesperson for Mr. Ramaswamy's campaign previously told the Daily Caller News Foundation that Mr. Ramaswamy is his largest donor and that “other campaign spending dwarfs ours.” Ta.
Hundreds of millions of dollars raised from donors wasn't enough to unseat former President Donald Trump from his dominant position in the primary.There have been no candidates so far Beyond A moving average of FiveThirtyEight's primary polls favors Trump, and the former president's support among Republicans will only increase as the primary season progresses.
As of January 9, 2023, Trump had an average approval rating of 45.9% in the Republican primary. according to To FiveThirtyEight. This number has since risen to 73.4% as of February 5th.
DCNF included the campaign committees of major Republican candidates in its analysis of FEC filings, along with top super PACs, to back them up. (Related: Democratic megadonor with ties to Jeffrey Epstein donates $250,000 to Nikki Haley Super PAC)
The super PACs included in DCNF's review of FEC applications are: pro-Burgum faction Best of America PAC, parent scott Trust Mission PAC, parent hutchinson America Strong & Free Action PAC, Parent Ramaswami American Exceptionalism PAC, parent christie Tell It Like It Is PAC, Prosuarez SOS America PAC, parent desantis PAC and Pence supporter Initiatives for America PAC.
Campaign committee and PAC records filed with the FEC include spending for all of 2023. Tim Scott's presidential campaign has not yet released its year-end report, and the latest numbers only cover through September 2023, making the DCNF numbers a slight underestimate. Some of the expenses incurred by the unsuccessful Republican presidential candidate.
(Photo by Joe Radle/Getty Images)
After DeSantis withdrew on January 21, Nikki Haley became the only remaining primary challenger to Trump.
With former South Carolina governor presidential election campaign and SFA FundThe main super PAC backing her spent about $87 million on her presidential bid, according to FEC filings.
Despite the huge spending, Haley has lost two consecutive elections and is trailing the former president by more than 50 points in national polls. according to Compared to the average of FiveThirtyEight.
Some candidates spent large sums of cash raised from donors but ended up dropping out before the first primary.
For example, Christie Spent He raised more than $5 million through the campaign committee and withdrew on January 10, less than a week before the Iowa caucuses. tell it like it isthe largest pro-Christie super PAC, spent an additional $9.6 million to support him.
Mr. Burgum, who also dropped out before the Iowa caucuses, spent $17.8 million through his campaign committee and was boosted by $23.9 million from the pro-Burgum Best of America PAC. according to In FEC filings.
Mr. Suarez, Mr. Scott and Mr. Pence also withdrew their candidacies before the Iowa caucuses, but spent millions of dollars through their campaign committees, according to FEC disclosures. Super PACs backing each candidate collectively spent millions more.
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