Trump scores with small money, lags with
big donors
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[September 21, 2016]
By Michelle Conlin and Grant Smith
NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. Republican
presidential candidate Donald Trump has been a hit with small donors,
raking in two-thirds of his individual campaign contributions in sums of
$200 or less, according to financial disclosures filed on Tuesday.
But with the big-money donor class, the players Trump blasted during the
primary season as greedy influence peddlers, the celebrity businessman
has fallen short of expectations, the disclosures filed with the federal
government showed.
Trump took in 65 percent of his total $75 million in individual campaign
contributions from people who pitched in $200 or less, but Super PAC
contributions fell short of expectations.
Great America PAC, the pro-Trump Super PAC led by Republican operative
Ed Rollins, said in July it expected to pull in more than $20 million by
now. Instead, it has raised just $11 million, according to the latest
campaign finance disclosures.
In a similar fashion, a pro-Trump Super PAC kicked off by Los Angeles
real estate investor Tom Barrack, Rebuilding America Now, said in June
it had $32 million in fundraising commitments.
But it received just over $2 million that month. A spokesperson for the
Super PAC says it has now raised $18 million. It will not file its next
report until October 15.
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The Republican kingmaker who was expected to be Trump’s single biggest
backer, casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, has scaled back his initial
pledge of $100 million, made in a private meeting with Trump in May, to
just $5 million, according to two associates close to Adelson familiar
with the matter.
CLINTON FINANCES
Democrat Hillary Clinton, who will face Trump in the Nov. 8 election,
has received about a quarter of her campaign donations from people who
contributed $200 or less - $71 million out of a total of $289 million,
according to disclosures.
Among the biggest backers to the pro-Clinton Super PAC, Priorities USA,
were Donald Sussman, president of Paloma Partners Advisors, Inc, George
Soros, chairman of Soros Fund Management, and Daniel Abraham, executive
at SDA Enterprises.
Clinton's money advantage will help her fund ad campaigns and
get-out-the-vote efforts in the final stretch the 2016 election. She
leads Trump by 4 percentage points nationally, according to the latest
Reuters/Ipsos tracking poll.
Together, Clinton's campaign and Super PAC have raked in a total of $520
million. By comparison, Trump's campaign and two Super PACs backing him
have brought in a combined $200 million.
Super PACs can raise unlimited money for candidates as long as they
don't directly coordinate with the campaign.
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![](../images/092116pics/news_q25.jpg)
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump gestures to supporters
as he departs a campaign rally in Clive, Iowa, U.S., September 13,
2016. REUTERS/Mike Segar/File Photo
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The latest filings, which cover spending through August 31, showed a
big increase in Trump's spending, with $30 million in disbursements,
more than any month so far.
They also provided further insight into the stark differences
between the two candidates’ operations.
STARK DIFFERENCES
The Clinton campaign’s outlays reflect a traditional presidential
playbook, spending five times more than Trump's has on television
ads and nine times more on payrolls.
The Trump campaign has spent $21 million on online advertising and
strategy, $11 million on T-shirts, trucker hats and yard signs, and
$4 million on field consulting.
Trump recently scored a promise of a $1 million donation from the
Ricketts family, which had previously backed a Super PAC opposing
him, but he has yet to see the flurry of large checks that flowed
into the coffers of former Republican White House rivals such as Jeb
Bush and Ted Cruz.
Instead of plowing money into the Trump campaign, Adelson - like his
fellow top conservative backers, the billionaire industrialist Koch
Brothers - will focus his efforts and donations on Senate and House
of Representatives races, two sources said.
Tuesday night’s filings show Adelson and his physician wife Miriam
gave $20 million to the Senate Leadership Fund, a Republican Super
PAC.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2016/Sep/21/images/ads/current/rohlfs_lda_051513.png)
The Adelsons plan on giving an additional $20 million to the Super
PAC that backs Republican House candidates, the sources said.
(Reporting by Michelle Conlin and Grant Smith; Editing by Caren
Bohan and Tom Heneghan)
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