Super PACs backing Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz have raised more than double the PAC backing presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.
Priorities USA Action has managed to secure just $5 million in “hard commitments,” and expects to raise just $15 million through the end of June, reported The Wall Street Journal. The PAC is led by prominent Democrats including President Barack Obama’s 2012 campaign manager, Jim Messina.
Super PACs backing Cruz raised more than twice that in a week. A Cruz associate told Bloomberg the group of PACs, formed in April, raised $31 million in their first week.
“Cruz’s haul is eye-popping, one that instantly raises the stakes in the Republican fundraising contest,” Bloomberg’s Mark Halperin wrote.
Super PACs can’t coordinate with the candidates they support, but they can solicit unlimited donations from individuals and use that money on behalf of the campaign for advertisements or other purposes.
The network of PACs all support Cruz but with different points of focus or methods, which allows donors to have more control over how their money is used, and is an unprecedented strategy. The four PACs are: Keep the Promise PAC, Keep the Promise PAC I, Keep the Promise PAC II and Keep the Promise PAC III.
Priorities is shaking up its senior staff in an effort to boost the low fundraising numbers, a Clinton adviser told TheWSJ. Guy Cecil, who worked for Clinton’s 2008 campaign, will likely take over as executive director from Buffy Wicks, who will take a position in the Clinton campaign.
“There was some unhappiness with the lack of leadership in the organization,” one person familiar with the PAC’s operations told TheWSJ.
“Everybody felt like the fundraising needed to be stepped up significantly,” a second person said.
Advisers said Clinton’s lack of overt enthusiasm for the role of PACs in campaigns, and uncertainty whether she would enter the race hindered initial fundraising efforts.
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