The super political action committee backing Hillary Clinton for president is expected to report raking in $15.6 million in the second quarter of this year, an impressive sum that’s on top of the $45 million the Democrat’s election campaign has said it has raised since mid-April.
Guy Cecil, the chief strategist and co-chair of Priorities USA Action, sent an email out to supporters and potential donors on Thursday announcing the $15.6 million haul, of which $12.5 million was brought in the last four weeks alone.
Cecil acknowledged “the amount of money pouring in from the far right wing.” For example, there have been some estimates that former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush could raise upwards of $100 million by July 15, the deadline for candidates to disclose their finances.
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“The time has come for our side to kick things into high gear. We have a lot of work to do in the months ahead, but we are starting to see some real momentum,” Cecil added in the email.
There were several big name donors who contributed this quarter to Priorities USA Action, said Peter Kauffmann, a spokesman for the super PAC. He told msnbc that media mogul Haim Saban was the top contributor with a $2 million donation. In addition, billionaire financier and philanthropist George Soros, directors Steven Spielberg and J.J Abrams and Dreamworks Animation’s Jeffrey Katzenberg also contributed, said Kauffman.
Besides Bush, other Republican candidates will likely announce large sums of cash this quarter as well. Super PACS backing Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas said they have raised more than $37 million, while Miami businessman Norman Braman has said he’ll give at least $10 million and as much as $25 million to help Florida Sen. Marco Rubio.
Super PACS, which spring to life in the wake of the Supreme Court’s 2010 Citizens United decision, can accept unlimited donations from wealthy individuals and corporations. The only rule is that they must operate independently of a candidate’s official campaign operation.
