Republican presidential candidate Chris Christie raised $1.65 million over the first 25 days of his candidacy through June 30, according to the former New Jersey governor’s latest fundraising report.
The total figure trails many of his rivals’ hauls but still puts him ahead of former Vice President Mike Pence, who raised less than $1.2 million in the second quarter, according to a campaign adviser. Pence announced his presidential bid on June 7, a day after Christie formally entered the GOP race.
The Christie campaign had $1.59 million in available cash as of June 30 and no debt. In a statement, campaign officials touted financial support from more than 40,000 donors in all 50 states. Earlier this week, Christie announced on CNN that he had met the 40,000-contributor threshold that is one of the requirements needed to participate in the first GOP debate next month. A super PAC supporting Christie – Tell It Like It Is PAC – also announced that it had raised nearly $5.9 million between Christie announcing his bid and the end of June.
To make the debate stage in Milwaukee on August 23, candidates also need to hit at least 1% in three recognized national polls or a combination of two national qualifying polls and polls from two separate early-voting states. Another requirement that has drawn criticism from certain candidates is the so-called loyalty pledge, which requires debate participants to agree in advance to support the eventual GOP nominee.
Saturday is the deadline for candidates to disclose their fundraising and spending details for the April to June period, and the filings offer a snapshot of which Republican candidates are struggling to gain early traction with donors and those who have jumped to early leads.
The fundraising leaders among Republicans appear to be former President Donald Trump, who announced raising more $35 million through his joint fundraising committee, and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who announced a $20 million haul for the second quarter since joining the race in late May.
Trump’s announced total, however, includes money that will go to his Save America leadership PAC, which cannot be spent directly on his presidential campaign.
Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley’s campaign said it raised $7.3 million combined among three campaign committees supporting her bid. Saturday’s filing shows her principal campaign committee received a total of $5.3 million, including $1 million transferred from her joint fundraising committee. Haley had about $6.8 million in available cash as of June 30. South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott announced he had raised $6.1 million since entering the race in May.
Meanwhile, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson’s campaign said it raised roughly in $743,000 in the second quarter through his aligned committees. His filings Saturday show his campaign entered July with about $380,000 in stockpiled cash – signaling the uphill battle he faces in breaking through the crowded GOP field.
North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum’s campaign, meanwhile, reported a quarterly haul of more than $11.7 million – $10.2 of which came in the form of a personal loan from the candidate, the filings show. Hutchinson joined the race in April, while Burgum launched his campaign last month.
Another wealthy self-funder seeking the Republican nomination, biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, loaned himself $5 million in the second quarter, which accounted for the lion’s share of his $7.7 million haul, according to his fundraising report. Ramaswamy, who entered the race in February, reported more than $9 million in available cash as of the end of June.
This story has been updated with additional information.
CNN’s Kim Berryman, Veronica Stracqualursi, and Kate Sullivan contributed to this report.
Source: www.cnn.com