Former Godfather’s Pizza CEO Herman Cain is a grassroots sensation on the 2012 presidential campaign trail. Now we know what that looks like as a dollar figure: Cain brought in $2.46 million in campaign contributions, a number the campaign tells TPM it expects to see rise to closer to $2.48 when all the final reporting is done.
“It’s not Mitt Romney money, it’s not [President] Obama money, but we’re excited,” spokesperson Ellen Carmichael told TPM late Friday night.
Cain, wealthy from his experience running Godfather’s as well as other successful business enterprises, has put in some of his own cash as “seed money” for the campaign, Carmichael said. But she said that the amount Cain has contributed pales in comparison to the $2 million or so former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman gave his own campaign, which reported just over $4 million in total fundraising today.
Carmichael said the campaign intends to use their haul to hire new staff and notes that Cain dropped three national mail pieces to help contribute to the total. She said that’s a sign that Cain intends to spend his campaign cash to boost is name ID and his already surging poll numbers.
“The campaign boasts $0 in campaign debt,” team Cain noted in a press release, “which Cain believes is a testament to his business principles.”
Carmichael said most of Cain’s money came from small donors giving less than $100, noting that the campaign has “more than 27,000” online donors.
Romney is expected to announce between $15-20 million in total fundraising this quarter. Obama is predicted to announce more than $60 million.
Evan McMorris-Santoro
Evan McMorris-Santoro has covered politics for TPM since 2009. Before that, he was a reporter at National Journal’s Hotline covering election 2008. He started his career covering local politics at newspapers in TN and his native NC.
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