Which presidential candidates are getting big South Dakota dollars? At this early stage, none!
Jonathan Ellis pores through the FEC campaign finance reports and finds the top fundraisers so far are Republican Ben Carson and Democrat Hillary Clinton. However, when we look at their fundraising as a percentage of national takes, South Dakota dollars are less than donors lose in the cushions at swanky D.C. events:
| Candidate | SD haul | national haul | SD % of nat’l |
| Ben Carson | $39,710 | $8,300,000 | 0.48% |
| Hillary Clinton | $21,378 | $69,300,000 | 0.03% |
| Rand Paul | $5,503 | $7,000,000 | 0.08% |
| Bernie Sanders | $4,939 | $15,000,000 | 0.03% |
| Ted Cruz | $4,792 | $51,300,000 | 0.009% |
| Mike Huckabee | $3,450 | $8,000,000 | 0.04% |
| Marco Rubio | $2,585 | $43,800,000 | 0.006% |
| Jeb Bush | $1,250 | $114,400,000 | 0.001% |
| Bobby Jindal | $500 | $9,200,000 | 0.005% |
| Rick Santorum | $300 | $600,000 | 0.05% |
When we include superPAC money in the tallies (see The Hill and Vox for more details), only Ben Carson has raised more than one tenth of one percent of his money in South Dakota. Ben Carson also distinguishes himself by being the only candidate whose percentage of South Dakota money so far (0.48%) is higher than South Dakota’s percentage of gross domestic product (0.28%). But as Ellis explains, Carson is also the only presidential candidate to show his face this cycle in South Dakota, attending a Sioux Falls fundraiser in June. Don’t expect the Carson bubble to last.
Clinton has so far outraised my man Bernie Sanders in South Dakota by a ratio of 4.32 to 1. That’s actually a slightly better figure for Sanders than Clinton’s nationwide fundraising advantage (again, including outside money) of 4.62 to 1. Go Bernie!
Go Bernie!
Jeb Bush campaign logo? “Jeb!” He’s apparently ashamed of his last name. Considering his bro, GWB, that’s completely understandable.
Make it 16, John Kasich joined the cast today.
Now with Trump leading in the polls maybe he’ll pull ahead of Carson in South Dakota funding raising. Although Trump has said he is using his own money for the campaign, his website shows he is soliciting funds.