A lot of people want Ben Carson to run for president.
That’s the takeaway from a campaign finance disclosure report filed with the Federal Election Commission on Wednesday.
The National Draft Ben Carson For President Committee raised just over $3.3 million between July 1 and Sept. 30, according to the disclosure.
Carson, a black conservative and former Johns Hopkins University neurosurgeon, shot to fame last year after he gave a speech at the National Prayer Breakfast. With President Barack Obama in attendance, Carson lambasted political correctness and criticized the nation’s deficit and tax structure.
The pro-Carson committee spent most of the money it raised in the most recent quarter — $3.2 million — leaving it with just over $800,000 cash on hand.
The committee’s haul places it third among all campaigns and committees that disclosed financing on Wednesday. Speaker of the House John Boehner raised $5.7 million, while the pro-choice group Emily’s List raised $3.8 million.
The recent quarter’s strong showing is not an anomaly for the Carson committee. So far this year, it has raised $9.1 million while spending nearly $8.6 million.
The committee’s organizers say that the financial support is evidence that the public is clamoring for a Carson run.
“Thousands of Americans believe that Dr. Carson is the best hope for our country, and are showing overwhelming support for him to run for the GOP nomination in the 2016,” Vernon Robinson, the draft committee’s campaign director, said in a statement.
The group said that it has received over 100,000 individual donations since forming last year. It also claims 20,000 volunteers.
Carson recently said that the support he’s received is encouraging. (RELATED: Dr. Ben Carson: Chances Are ’50/50′ I Run For President)
“Well, I’m certainly thinking about it as more and more people encourage me to do it,” Carson told Fox’s Sean Hannity earlier this week. “In the beginning, I thought it was more of a passing fad and that it would go away, but in fact it seems to be building more and more momentum.”
“I’d say [the odds of running] are at least 50/50,” he said.