Ted Cruz trounces Marco Rubio in third quarter fundraising
Republican Sen. Ted Cruz's presidential campaign raised $12.2 million in the third quarter of this year, eclipsing the roughly $6 million that his GOP rival Sen. Marco Rubio brought in, campaign officials confirmed to CBS News.
Rubio only managed to raise about half of the $12 million he raised in the second quarter. However, the Florida senator entered the month of October with about $11 million in cash on hand. Cruz's campaign did not reveal how much they had on hand.
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Rubio campaign officials said July and August were tough months for donations. Rubio's fundraising pales in comparison to Cruz's and that of Ben Carson, who brought in around $20 million for the third quarter.
However, Rubio's campaign team points out that he raised over $1 million online alone in September, on the heels of two solid debate performances. Meanwhile, the campaign's $11 million cash on hand is particularly significant, given the campaign's slow-and-steady strategy. The campaign is spending virtually nothing on television advertising at this point and has a relatively small staff. The plan is to steadily gain momentum before the February 1 Iowa caucuses.