A super-political action committee urging former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to run for president in 2016 said it raised more than $1.7 million in the first three months of this year.
The super-PAC, Ready for Hillary, has collected $5.75 million from 55,000 people since the pro-Clinton effort was created a year ago, according to a release from the PAC today. In the quarter, 22,000 new contributors gave an average of $53, with 9,500 donating a symbolic $20.16, according to a statement.
Clinton, 66, has said she will make a decision on a White House bid by the end of this year. She has a big lead over other Democrats in early voter preference surveys. Eighty-two percent of Democrats want her to run for president, according to a New York Times/CBS poll in February.
I am thinking about it, Clinton, a former U.S. senator from New York, said April 8 after a speech in San Francisco. Im not going to make a decision for a while because Im actually enjoying my life.
Ready for Hillary will file a report to the Federal Election Commission by April 15 detailing its donors and spending for the first quarter.
It previously raised $4 million in 2013 from donors including billionaire Alice Walton, the daughter of Bentonville, Arkansas-based Wal-Mart Stores Inc. founder Sam Walton, and billionaire financier George Soros.
Walton and Soros each gave $25,000, the maximum donation Ready for Hillary is accepting even though super-PACs are permitted to accept contributions in unlimited amounts. The PACs leaders say they want to focus on building grassroots support by identifying supporters on Facebook, shipping bumper stickers and holding pro-Clinton events.
The PAC said it has identified 2 million Clinton supporters and have persuaded 700,000 people to sign a pledge to help her win if she runs. Contributions were received from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and U.S. territories, the group said.
Priorities USA Action, a super-PAC that aired television ads in 2012 promoting President Barack Obama and attacking Republican challenger Mitt Romney, is preparing to aid a Clinton 2016 campaign.
To contact the reporter on this story: Greg Giroux in Washington at ggiroux@bloomberg.net
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Super-PAC Urging 2016 Clinton Bid Raises $1.7 Million