White House hopeful Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) raised $6 million in the third quarter, a disappointing haul for a candidate who has been rising in the polls and lauded as a potential threat to former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush for the GOP’s establishment mantle.
That’s a drop from the $9 million Rubio raised in two-and-a-half months in the second quarter, after he launched his bid for the White House in mid-April.
{mosads}All told, Rubio has raised $18 million in hard campaign dollars this year, which includes about $3 million for his Senate reelection bid that has transferred to his presidential account.
The Florida Republican finishes the third quarter with about $11 million in cash on hand. Outside groups had raised more than $30 million on his behalf at the end of the second quarter.
Rubio campaign officials shared the figure with top donors in Las Vegas, according to a source at the gathering. Rubio is campaigning in Nevada this weekend.
His team said its fundraising efforts were stunted in July by Gov. Scott Walker’s (Wis.) entrance into the race, and several other candidates who jumped in early in the summer.
They also cited the slow-moving summer months, when many donors are away on vacation, as a reason for the lower-than-expected haul.
But the Rubio campaign said they’ve turned things around in the fall, claiming to have raised more than $1 million online in September, and forecasting October will be their best month of fundraising yet.
Still, Rubio is at risk of getting doubled up by Bush in the third quarter. The Wall Street Journal has reported that Bush is likely to surpass his second-quarter haul of $11.4 million.
Two other Republicans have announced their third-quarter numbers.
Retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson will likely lead the field, having netted $20 million in the second quarter. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) struggled, bringing in only $2.5 million.