After raising
over $100 million in the first six months of the year, Jeb's
3rd quarter fundraising wasn't what the son and brother of past presidents should have been: $13.4 million. As he's sunk in the polls and failed to generate much grassroots enthusiasm, money was Jeb!'s one refuge and the reason many pundits still considered him a chief contender. But Jeb!'s got even bigger problems than his paltry haul—he's spending cash almost as quickly as it comes in.
From the Washington Post:
The former Florida governor spent 86 percent of the money he collected over the past three months, burning through $11.5 million of the $13.4 million that he raised. “He should have (raised) at least $25 million,” a major Republican fundraiser told Matea Gold and Philip Rucker. [...]
Jeb’s haul is still a lot of money, for sure, but it is a staggeringly underwhelming figure for the son and brother of former presidents, both of whom hosted multiple events to shake the family network’s money tree. “Some donors are really nervous,” another top Bush fundraiser told Matea and Phil.
Jeb! dropped into single digits on August 19, according to
HuffPost Pollster's average of polls and he's been there for nearly a month now. In politics, just like in life, money can't buy you love. So far, it's bought him loyalty from the GOP establishment and many pundits. But even that's beginning to be in short supply.