Looks like somebody wants him to run.
Ted Cruz raked in around $4 million in the eight days following his presidential kickoff last week, his campaign announced Thursday.
The Texas Republican, the first candidate to formally launch a 2016 campaign, has capitalized on a wave of attention since kicking off his campaign last week at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia.
In his speech, he cast himself as a steadfast conservative who, if elected, would roll back much of President Barack Obama’s agenda.
Facing a crowded Republican field, Cruz, a tea party-aligned senator elected in 2012, is trying to erase doubts early on about whether he can raise enough money to compete against candidates like former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, who have established broad bases of fundraising support. Bush has spent recent months crisscrossing the country to raise money for a super PAC, Right to Rise, which is expected to spend tens of millions of dollars in support of his candidacy.
The Cruz campaign said 95 percent of the donations they received between his announcement on March 23 until the end of the first quarter on March 31 were for $100 or less.
I think the real reason so many establishment GOP talking heads got out the “Ted Cruz can’t win” message when he announced was that they wanted to derail his fundraising a bit. Well, so much for that.
It’s encouraging that so many were small donors, too. This is one area the Republicans have been awful in, always relying on the octogenarian harumph money. There are people who want to be involved, but can’t be involved for $1000 every time you ask them.
Cruz definitely has enthusiastic supporters but it remains to be seen whether this first week will encourage some new support.
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