Former Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania raised only $582,348 in the second quarter, according to a press release issued by his campaign Friday morning. Santorum, who
officially threw his hat into the ring on June 6, had $229,000 cash on hand as of June 30.
In announcing their second quarter fundraising results, Santorum’s debt-free campaign tried to put a positive spin on the lackluster totals.
“In the short amount of time since Senator Santorum has been a candidate for president, he was able to raise a significant amount of resources. It is worth noting that Senator Santorum didn’t hold his first official fundraiser until June 22, and between that day and June 30, he raised nearly half of the money he raised as an official presidential candidate,” said Amanda Kornegay, Santorum’s campaign finance director.
Santorum’s dismal fundraising numbers pale in comparison to the $18.25 million raised by GOP frontrunner Mitt Romney or the $4.5 million raised by former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty and longtime Texas congressman Ron Paul.
Santorum’s second quarter haul also puts him far behind former Utah Gov. and former U.S. Ambassador to China Jon Huntsman, who also didn’t announce his candidacy until late June. Huntsman reported that he had raised in $4.1 million in the second quarter, including approximately $2 million of his own money.
Santorum also trails Herman Cain, the former CEO of Godfather’s Pizza, who took in $2.46 million in the second quarter, and former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, who raised around $2 million. Unlike Santorum, Gingrich’s campaign is reportedly saddled with a million dollar debt.
Michele Bachmann’s fundraising totals are not yet available.
In the most expensive Senate race in that cycle, Santorum spent $25.8 million in his bid for a third term in 2006, a race he lost decisively to Democrat Bob Casey.
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