WASHINGTON _ Hillary Clinton pulled in $295 million in the third quarter through a joint fundraising committee with the Democratic Party, adding to her financial advantage over Donald Trump heading into the final weeks of the campaign.
The disclosures with the Federal Election Commission on Saturday show that Clinton continues to draw support from a wide range of donors, including celebrities, tech figures and hedge-fund operators. Contributions from donors who've given $100,000 or more to her joint fundraising committees made up $84.3 million of her take. Small-dollar donations of $200 or less accounted for $39.7 million.
Clinton, whose fundraising has long outstripped Trump's, is getting an additional boost as Trump's campaign continues to deal with the fallout from a 2005 video in which the Republican nominee remarks about adultery and groping women. The contents of the video, which was made public earlier this month, prompted several Republican lawmakers to disavow Trump's candidacy.
"I've had people contact me who know I've been helping Hillary all along who now want to give," said former Michigan Gov. James Blanchard, one of Clinton's fundraisers. "I've been trying to get them to give for a year-and-a-half, and now they want to write a check."
Apple CEO Tim Cook, Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg, Walt Disney president and CEO Robert Iger were among those making their first six-figure contributions to Clinton's joint fundraising effort in the third quarter. "Family Guy" creator Seth MacFarlane, actor Ben Affleck, designer Calvin Klein and movie producers Jeffrey Katzenberg, George Lucas and Steven Spielberg contributed as well.
They were joined by some of Clinton's biggest longtime donors. Chicago publisher Fred Eychaner, entertainment mogul Haim Saban and his wife Cheryl, as well as hedge fund manager S. Donald Sussman each contributed $200,400 to the Hillary Action Fund. Combined, they've also given $31 million to Priorities USA, the main super-PAC supporting Clinton.
Registered lobbyists raised $11.1 million for the two joint fundraising committees, including Richard Sullivan of Capitol Counsel and Ankit Desai of Cheniere Energy, who each raised about $1.6 million.
The fundraising pace is unlikely to slow. The campaign has 13 fundraisers scheduled over the next 10 days, according to data collected by the Sunlight Foundation. Some events feature vice presidential nominee Tim Kaine and Chelsea Clinton.
"This is a crazy time, we take nothing for granted, we'll raise money right up until the election," Blanchard said, noting that states such as Utah and Arizona, which are typically won by the Republican candidate, could come into play for Clinton. New opportunities require more resources.
In a news release earlier this month, the Clinton campaign announced it had $160 million in cash on hand entering October, well ahead of Trump, who had $75 million in his committee and two joint fundraising committees.
"I have had unsolicited contributions flowing in," said Carrin Patman, another fundraiser for Clinton who lives in Houston. For her part, she's increasing her donations to support Democratic House candidates. "I think it would be wonderful if she had a Democratic Congress. But first I want to close this deal."
