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 But unlike Clinton and Obama, Carson lacks access to deep-pocked
donors from corporate America and Hollywood who have been the
traditional sources of massive campaign war chests of presidential
candidates.
Nor is Carson following the traditional path of building his
candidacy brick-by-brick through a prolific schedule of appearances
in key early primary states such as Iowa and New Hampshire.
Instead, Carson has been building a huge, and loyal, digital
audience. Close to half of the $20 million tally raised in the last
three months came from online sources, Barry Bennett, Carson’s
campaign manager, told Reuters.
Carson's online fundraising strategy - similar to one employed by
Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders - contrasts with the big-ticket
fundraising events traditionally favored by presidential candidates.
Carson's $20 million outpaced the Republican frontrunner from the
2012 election, Mitt Romney, who took in $14 million over the same
three-month period. And it was comparable to the amount Obama raised
during his first campaign in the summer of 2007.
 He was not far behind Clinton, a powerhouse fundraiser, who raked in
$28 million over the last three months.
FACE TO FACE
While Carson is known for being quietly spoken on the campaign
trail, he speaks volumes on the Internet.
Some online supporters are attracted to his compelling life story
and his anti-establishment rhetoric; others simply because his daily
presence on social media makes them feel more involved in his
campaign.
Facebook <FB.O> has become Carson’s chief weapon. While his Twitter
following (692,000) pales in comparison to Clinton's (4.4 million)
and Donald Trump's (4.3 million), the front runner for the
Republican nomination, his Facebook page is the most popular in the
entire 2016 race.
Carson holds brief chats every weekday evening and answers three
questions from users. Rachelle Davis, one of more than 4 million
Facebook users who have “liked” Carson’s official Facebook page,
said his daily “Ask Ben” sessions empower everyday voters who can’t
attend debates to have their questions addressed.
“He’s not just putting out his political line. He’s answering
people’s questions,” the 46-year-old children’s minister from
Indianapolis, Indiana, said. “It makes people out here feel like
they’re important.”
Carson's performance on Facebook in September exceeded that of other
Republican candidates. He notched up more than 8.2 million
"engagements," according to data compiled by NewsWhip, a social
media analytics firm. Engagements consist of likes, shares and
comments on posts. By comparison, Carson's nearest rival, Trump,
generated about 6.3 million engagements.
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Social media has buoyed Carson in other ways. Bennett said the
campaign drew thousands to an event in Phoenix in August by simply
advertising online days before the event.
“We got 12,000 people to our event in Phoenix in less than four
days,” Bennett said, adding, “All I did was post it on social
media.”
SOME SKEPTICS
Still, Carson’s fundraising prowess has skeptics, who say the
campaign has spent money at a faster rate than other campaigns in an
attempt to pump up its numbers. During the second quarter of the
fundraising year, Carson spent 64 percent of the money he raised,
more than any other candidate.
Carson’s campaign has yet to disclose how much cash is left in its
account.
Regardless of Carson's non-traditional approach, he will have to
figure out how to leverage his online popularity into an organized
effort in early voting states like Iowa, New Hampshire and South
Carolina if he wants to succeed, said Patrick Ruffini, a Republican
consultant who specializes in campaign analytics.
For now Carson trails only Trump in polls in those states, but he
has spent little time there compared to some of his opponents. He
has been traveling more widely to try to develop a national base of
support. He has visited 37 states since announcing his candidacy,
according to his campaign.
Carson is continuing to chase donors, both in traditional and
nontraditional ways. He attended a $1,000-a-plate fundraiser in
Chicago on Thursday and will be holding similar events in the coming
weeks. But supporters can pay as little as $250 to share a meal with
him in Knoxville, Tennessee, on Oct. 12 or lunch with him in
Augusta, Georgia, three days later.
Carson’s campaign said his small donors still have money left in
their pockets. More than 250,000 donors have given to the campaign
at least twice, but with the average donation just $51, they have
far to go before they reach the federal individual contribution
limit of $2,700.
(Reporting by Erin McPike, Alana Wise, Angela Moon, and Grant Smith,
Writing by James Oliphant, editing by Ross Colvin)
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