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Tom McCarthy with Paul Lewis in Washington, Ben Jacobs in Des Moines and Lauren Gambino in New York

Bernie Sanders appears to eclipse Hillary Clinton for small-donor support – as it happened

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., speaks at a the National Council of La Raza Annual Conference, Monday, July 13, 2015, in Kansas City, Mo.
Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., speaks at a the National Council of La Raza Annual Conference, Monday, July 13, 2015, in Kansas City, Mo. Photograph: Charlie Riedel/AP

Summary

We’re going to wrap up our live blog coverage for the day. Follow coverage through the evening on our home page here.

Ben Jacobs is digging into the Sanders donor list:

And looking at some congressional filings, too:

“There is no way for the Republican party to keep Donald Trump out of the debates now,” writes Ben Jacobs, upon news that Trump had filed a personal financial disclosure with the Federal Election Commission – the last step needed to secure his presence on the debate stage.

Ben writes:

In a statement, Trump’s campaign announced in all capital letters that the real estate mogul’s “net worth is in excess of TEN BILLION DOLLARS” – more than previously reported. It went on to note that, not including “dividends, interest, capital gains, rents and royalties”, Trump’s income in 2014 was $362m. This suggests his wealth exceeds the total worth of 2012 GOP nominee Mitt Romney, who was attacked for his wealth throughout the campaign.

Read the full piece here.

Goldman Sachs turns out for Jeb Bush, Public Integrity points out:

The Guardian’s Ben Jacobs has disappeared into Jeb Bush’s second-quarter FEC filing. We’re receiving intermittent communiqués:

Former Michigan Senator Spencer Abraham is a max donor to Jeb Bush

Jeb Bush has given $388,720.15 to his campaign per filings.

Still the black sheep:

In what will be heartbreaking to lifelong Dolphins fan Marco Rubio, Don Shula gave $2700 to Jeb

NY Jets owner Woody Johnson maxed out to Jeb as well

The Guardian’s Paul Lewis (@paullewis) has a look through the Sanders filing and finds evidence of “broad, grassroots support.” Paul writes:

For true comparisons, we’ll have to wait for all candidates required to file by this deadline to submit their documents. But the submission from Bernie Sanders shows a level of broad, grassroots support that, measured as a ratio of small to large donors, it will be hard for others (Clinton included) to rival. More than three-quarters of his haul - totalling just under $10.5m - came from donors who gave less than $200 in the two months since he announced his White House run.

His campaign - keen to spin the case that his campaign is spurred by grassroots backers rather than big-money donors - released a statement saying more than 284,000 individual donors gave an average contribution of just over $35 each. Or as Sanders put it: “Our campaign is a strong grassroots movement supported by middle-class Americans from working families, not billionaires trying to buy elections.”

Jeb Bush, by comparison, raised just $368,023 from small donors.

Records show that Bernie 2016 has a not-too-shabby cash-on-hand figure, either: $12,161,737.67. That’s more than Bush, although the former Florida governor has deliberately encouraged supporters to direct their donations to his preferred Super Pac, Right to Rise USA.

Updated

Sanders appears to eclipse Clinton for small-donor support

Bernie Sanders, the Democratic runner-up at this stage, has filed as well. His funding look to be truly driven by small-donor support. Here’s Ken Vogel of Politico:

Updated

The Jeb Bush campaign has filed with the FEC. As advertised, Bush 2016 boasts an $11.4m haul from contributors:

Much more on this filing to come. Russ Choma at Mother Jones points out that money from the candidate exceeded money from small donors:

Updated

The Republican frontrunner takes FEC filing day as an opportunity to make all-caps claims about his reportedly climbing net worth.

TEN BILLION DOLLARS
TEN BILLION DOLLARS Photograph: Charles Rex Arbogast/AP

Next to file with the FEC is Rick Perry, who reports 1,069,521.73 in net contributions other than loans. Here are some of the ways that Perry’s haul parses:

Hanging out in Iowa
Hanging out in Iowa Photograph: Charlie Neibergall/AP

On the disposition of hedge fund manager Paul Singer, Republican megadonor:

On Singer’s heft: One Lunch. $500,000. The Power of Paul Singer, Republican Rainmaker

A single Manhattan lunch this spring offers a small window into why hedge-fund billionaire Paul Singer has become one of the most powerful and sought-after donors in Republican politics.

Jeb Bush to reveal names of cash 'bundlers'

The Jeb Bush campaign will disclose the names of its workhorse fundraisers, so-called “bundlers” responsible for building and harvesting networks of donors – families, friends, contacts – each of which donor can contribute a maximum of $2,700 to the campaign in the primary cycle and the same amount in the general.

The Clinton campaign has promised to reveal its bundlers, too. Bush is the first Republican candidate to vow to do so. In 2012, the Barack Obama campaign revealed the names of its bundlers but the Mitt Romney campaign released only an incomplete list.

Any bundlers in here?
Any bundlers in here? Photograph: Nati Harnik/AP

The Washington Post reports:

Bush aides said Wednesday that he will release a list of bundlers who have helped raise donations for his campaign by Oct. 15, when campaigns must file reports about their fundraising and spending during the third quarter of the year with the Federal Election Commission.

“Governor Bush is committed to transparency,” said spokeswoman Kristy Campbell.

Updated

Donald Trump dominates GOP discussion

As we wait for further campaign finance disclosures, we’ve collected five Donald Trump headlines you may have missed.

Some analysts see Trump as a big problem for the GOP. Others see him as ultimately helping Bush. Many marvel at Trump’s remarkable survey in popularity among core Republican voters. “Really? Donald Trump?”, this last group marvels.

Really, Donald Trump. Read these five stories:

In Iowa, Jeb Bush finds himself on Trump-friendly terrain

Jeff Jorgensen, who chairs the local party, said that’s because Trump “has something that touches the Average Joe out there. And for someone in his position, you’d think that’s hard to do, but he’s done it,” he said.

And Bush?

“Two words: Establishment Republican,” Jorgensen said. “Given his family history, he’s anathema to most people around here. . . .

How Trump may ultimately help Bush

But Trump’s ascent could inadvertently help Bush, both by providing him a foil in the immigration debate, and also by dividing the populist conservative voters who are least likely to ever support an establishment favorite like the former Florida governor.

Listening to Donald Trump swear and talk politics on his private plane

Trump was most animated when analyzing the way the news media covered him and dishing with aides about the articles they had printed out. He was less excited discussing the process of presidential politics. When asked about the coming debate, set for Aug. 6 in Cleveland, he shrugged and said, “Whatever.” When asked about calls for him to tone down his fiery pitch, he shrugged again.

How Donald Trump Destroyed the Republican Party’s Best-Laid Plans

To see just how badly Trump has screwed up the intentions of the party elders, consider the results of a new Washington Post poll. Since his inflammatory comments describing immigrants as criminals, Trump’s favorable rating among Republicans has surged:

Trump’s popularity spikes among Republicans

Nearly six in 10 -- 57 percent -- Republicans now have a favorable view of Trump, compared to 40 percent who have an unfavorable one. That marks a complete reversal from a late-May Post-ABC poll, in which 65 percent of Republicans saw Trump unfavorably.

Updated

Lincoln Chafee, the former senator and Rhode Island governor, and former Republican running for president as a Democrat, was out in front of the pack with his FEC filing, and in no other sense whatsoever.

Chafee raised less than $30,000 in his first quarter as a candidate, Politico noted Monday.

But Chafee has also loaned his campaign $364,000, so it still exists. He is independently wealthy and running on a platform of the US adopting the metric system.

Chafee pictured with his sole donor. Just kidding – she did not contribute.
Chafee pictured with his sole donor. Just kidding – she did not contribute. Photograph: Gretchen Ertl/Reuters

Updated

Republicans have developed doubts about Citizens United v FEC, the 2010 Supreme Court decision that opened the way for unlimited political spending by corporations.

Now some in the GOP fear that Super Pacs and other outside spending groups could distort the nominating process by keeping certain candidates with narrow but deep support in the race artificially long, Kenneth P Vogel and Tarini Parti of Politico report:

Concerns are mounting among top donors and party elites that an influx of huge checks into the GOP primary will hurt the party’s chances of retaking the White House. Long-shot candidates propped up by super PACs and other big-money groups will be able to linger for months throwing damaging barbs at establishment favorites who offer a better chance of victory, the thinking goes.

Read the full piece here. And then read Nick Confessore in the New York Times on how Super Pacs have altered the campaign finance landscape:

Without super PACs, four Republicans — Jeb Bush, Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz and Ben Carson — would have raised roughly the same amount of money, between $10 million and $12 million during the second quarter of 2015. A fifth, Rand Paul, would be close behind, while several others, including Rick Perry, would be trailing.

Instead, the field has rapidly separated into three distinct financial tiers. Mr. Bush has raised about $114 million with the help of a super PAC. Mr. Cruz, Mr. Rubio and their super PACs occupy the next-highest tier, with each having raised more than $40 million.

Read the full piece here.

Updated

You can read Mark Leibovich’s profile for the NY Times of Hillary Clinton here. It’s nothing to do with FEC filing day. We’re trusting in your ecumenicalism here:

From the outset of the campaign, any hope that Clinton might unveil a more freewheeling style in keeping with the more unplugged sensibilities of today’s political and media culture lasted for all of, well, never. Signs of apparent spontaneity and whimsy have been nonexistent — she has been largely steadfast in avoiding interviews, with a campaign team that can convey a heavy-handed preoccupation with control. Conversations I have had with officials tend to be vigilantly ground-ruled. In June, I visited Clinton’s Brooklyn Heights headquarters to interview Robby Mook, her 35-year-old campaign manager. The meeting had been arranged through Jesse Ferguson, a campaign press minder, who in advance of my arrival sent me an email that said the following: ‘‘The ground rules we’ve had with others in our office is that the office itself is OTR,’’ meaning off the record. ‘‘I don’t want to get into a contest of people tweeting pic from our office to show they were there.’’

Read the full piece here.

Invisible in plain sight: with the Senate pages Tuesday.
Invisible in plain sight: with the Senate pages Tuesday. Photograph: Pete Marovich/Pete Marovich/Corbis

Updated

Here’s a good graphic from the Wall Street Journal:

O'Malley reports unofficial $2m figure

Martin O’Malley, the Democratic former governor of Maryland, has told supporters that he raised $2m in the first month of his campaign, the Washington Post reports:

The conference call with O’Malley and aides was described by three donors who participated. They requested anonymity to more freely discuss the call, in which O’Malley also provided an update on other aspects of his long-shot campaign.

$2m: It’s a start
$2m: It’s a start Photograph: Andrew Gombert/EPA

That would leave O’Malley nipping around the ankles of Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton, whose campaign has unofficially reported raising $45m in checks of $2,700 or less for her campaign. Bernie Sanders, the senator for Vermont also challenging Clinton, has reported raising $15m since April.

(h/t @bencjacobs)

Updated

We’re not going to be hearing from New Jersey Governor Chris Christie today on the FEC filings front – he officially joined the race too late, 30 June, to embarrass himself with release second-quarter numbers.

Let’s pick up on some other news out of Christie-land, then. The poll-challenged governor has just picked up a decent endorsement, from Maryland governor Larry Hogan, the Baltimore Sun reports:

“He has done a great job as governor of New Jersey,” Hogan said. “I’m extremely excited about the prospect of Chris Christie as President of the United States.”

Read the full piece here. (h/t @bencjacobs)

Well put.

A lawyer for the Democrats says the government should stay up late so campaigns can go to the wire with their Q2 2015 fundraising before reporting at the very last minute at midnight.

The FEC commissioner is all, maybe next year, when we’re all still doing this?:

Ellen Weintraub just sent Bobby Jindal spray roses.

Jindal Update: The Washington Examiner reports that Super Pac and nonprofit fundraising lards another $8.6m for Jindal onto that $580,000 he raised from actual people in the last week of June:

The Louisiana Republican, who entered the presidential contest one week before the close of the second quarter fundraising period, will report raising $578,758 from June 24 - 30, his campaign team confirmed to the Washington Examiner on Tuesday. That’s an average of $96,000 per day from 2,003 individual donors; 87 percent of them contributed less than $100 each.

Read the full piece here. And #ff @bencjacobs.

Jeb Bush is raising money off the FEC filing deadline, the NY Times reports:

Hit me
Hit me Photograph: James Colburn/James Colburn/Demotix/Corbis

Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal is off to a... start. Polling averages have Jindal bumping along at the bottom of the pack. Or back of the pack, rather. Bottom of the pile. He’s writhing at the bottom of the pile.

Suffice to say he is not raising much so far...

... but that might be OK, because he’s apparently spending wisely:

Bobby Jindal: behind the shades
Bobby Jindal: behind the shades Photograph: Charlie Neibergall/AP

The Jindal campaign points out that the vast majority of Jindal donors – all 2,000 of them – are small-dollar contributors, the kind of support that can indicate grassroots appeal:

ExxonMobil gave to members of Congress who deny climate change

ExxonMobil gave more than $2.3m to members of Congress and a corporate lobbying group that deny climate change and block efforts to fight climate change – eight years after pledging to stop its funding of climate denial, the Guardian’s US environment correspondent, Suzanne Goldenberg (@suzyji), reports:

Climate denial – from Republicans in Congress and lobby groups operating at the state level – is seen as a major obstacle to US and global efforts to fight climate change, closing off the possibility of federal and state regulations cutting greenhouse gas emissions and the ability to plan for a future of sea-level rise and extreme weather.

Exxon channeled about $30m to researchers and activist groups promoting disinformation about global warming over the years, according to a tally kept by the campaign group Greenpeace. But the oil company pledged to stop such funding in 2007, in response to pressure from shareholder activists.

“In 2008 we will discontinue contributions to several public policy groups whose position on climate change could divert attention from the important discussion on how the world will secure energy required for economic growth in an environmentally responsible manner,” Exxon said in its 2007 Corporate Citizenship report.

Read the full report here.

Updated

To follow reporters sifting the FEC filings, you might refer to this list by Adam Smith at Every Voice Center.

There are a few candidates who won’t be disclosing information today, because their official declarations came too late. Ohio governor John Kasich is expected to unveil his campaign next week, while Wisconsin governor Scott Walker jumped in just on Monday and New Jersey governor Chris Christie announced on 30 June. Those three are out – although a Christie-allied super PAC said on Tuesday that it has raised $11m, AP reported.

Sorry love, won't have those numbers for you until October.
Sorry love, won’t have those numbers for you until October. Photograph: Ethan Miller/Getty Images

The next FEC filing deadline for individual contributions to campaigns is in mid-October.

Updated

Marco Rubio’s overall take from donors — $44.7 million to his campaign and two outside groups — “includes $15.8 million for a nonprofit that won’t file any public budget information until at least next year and keeps its donors secret,” the Associated Press reports.

“I’m going to buy that chandelier for my house.” Photograph: John Locher/AP

Meanwhile, retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, a conservative GOP candidate, and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, a liberal candidate seeking the Democratic nomination, have harnessed grassroots enthusiasm to fill campaign coffers with small donations. Carson’s campaign says it has raised more than $10.4 million, and Sanders has brought in $15 million. Because the money is coming directly to them, they have tighter control over how it is used.

Clinton and Bush account for half of all money disclosed so far

There’s no suspense attached to the question of who the biggest fundraisers are. “Almost half of the money disclosed so far will benefit just two of the expected 22 candidates,” the AP reports: Hillary Rodham Clinton and Jeb Bush.

Clinton, the Democratic front-runner, has raised $45 million in checks of $2,700 or less for her campaign. Priorities USA Action, a super PAC that counts on seven-figure donors, raised an additional $15 million.

Bush’s money looks different. Before he officially declared his candidacy, the former Florida governor spent the first six months of the year raising huge sums of money for Right to Rise, a super PAC that’s boosting his bid to win the Republican nomination. That group says it has raised a record $103 million. Bush’s presidential campaign, which officially began on June 15, collected $11.5 million from contributors.

Updated

Among other things, presidential races involve the ritual construction of tall towers of money to be soaked with gasoline and torched. Campaigns that never end up capturing a single vote will still spend millions paying consultants that nobody likes, to craft messages nobody believes in, for advertising everybody hates. Maybe it sends some people’s kids to school, is about the best thing you can say about it.

Today, in a watershed moment for the world’s first $1bn election, we get the first substantial big-money data of the 2016 cycle. Today, we find out how tall those towers of dough are stacking up to be – and what the campaigns have wasted it on so far. Because 15 July is the deadline for candidates to file disclosures to the Federal Elections Commission on who is donating how much, and how all that cash is being spent.

The disclosures do not include some of the largest anticipated money flows, from the outside groups known as Super Pacs, which are not allowed to coordinate with campaigns and must file separately later this month.

We know roughly how much the Super Pacs are spending so far, however, because many candidates and those Super Pacs have announced unofficial fundraising totals. The Associated Press tallied the numbers and found that donors “have handed over some $377 million through the end of June. That’s more than the presidential candidates raised for the entire primary election of 2000, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, a group that tracks election spending.”

We’ll be working all day and night with that group, out of Washington and on the trail in Iowa, to track Clinton cash, Bernie’s grassroots gains, Bush’s ballooning coffers, Trump’s billions and the rest of the huge Republican field.

The documents revealed today will cover financial activity between 1 April and 30 June and will list the names of everyone who gave at least $200, according to the AP:

The maximum contribution for the primary is $2,700. The FEC reports also will show how candidates are spending their money – on consultants, office space, advertising, polling and more.

Who’s winning the money race in the early runnings? Who has the most small donors? How is the money being spent? What are the campaigns’ top consultants making? Join us today as we dive into the cash pool.

Updated

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