A record $377 million has swamped presidential election

Fredreka Schouten | USA TODAY

WASHINGTON — A record $377 million already has rained down on the presidential field in the opening months of the 2016 contest, with more than $6 out of every $10 raised on candidates' behalf going to independent groups that face no contribution limits.

The trend, dominated by Republicans, underscores how much recent changes to federal election rules, including court rulings allowing unlimited corporation contributions in elections, have rewritten the playbook of American campaigns.

"We've never this seen this level of fundraising at this stage in the process," said Anthony Corrado, a campaign finance expert at Colby College in Maine.

At this point in the 2012 election, only two candidate-specific PACs had emerged in the presidential race and had raised a combined $15 million, Corrado said. In the first six months of the current election cycle alone, supporters of former Florida governor Jeb Bush already have stocked his super PAC with $103 million, putting him ahead of the Republican field and dwarfing the $11.4 million he raised for his own official campaign.

In addition, every other major Republican contender has at least one super PAC aiding his or her candidacy.

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, one of the top fundraisers in the Republican field so far, has collected more than $14 million since entering the race in March. That's overshadowed, however, by the family of four super PACs that has raised another $37 million to help Cruz.

The narrative is different among Democrats. Setting aside outside money, Hillary Clinton is the fundraising front-runner among all candidates. She has collected $47.5 million since entering the race in April, outpacing even the outside groups set up to advance help advance her ambitions.

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, a rival for the Democratic nomination who has drawn big crowds to his campaign events, raised $15.2 million but outperformed Clinton among the grass-roots donors needed to sustain candidates over the long fundraising slog.

Contributions of $200 or less account for about 17% of Clinton's individual donations. More than 76% of the money Sanders received in individual contributions came in small amounts. He also has the largest donor base of any candidate in the presidential field: 284,000 donors to Clinton's 250,000.

Corrado said Sanders' appeal among progressive Democratic donors echoes the kind of support enjoyed by fellow Vermonter Howard Dean, who pioneered Internet fundraising to raise about $50 million for his unsuccessful bid 2004 Democratic nomination.

"Bernie Sanders will have more than enough money to wage a credible campaign," Corrado said.

Clinton's allies, however, are focused less on Sanders than on the GOP's lopsided fundraising advantage and Republican donors' keen interest in seizing the White House.

"Republicans are out-raising us 4 to 1," Clinton's campaign chairman John Podesta said in an email to supporters Thursday afternoon. "If we win the Democratic nomination for president, and this pace keeps up, we are in for a ferocious onslaught of dark money, regardless of who the nominee is on the other side."

Chris Lehane, a Democratic strategist, said Clinton's fundraising accomplishments — which broke a record for primary donations — should not be dismissed amid all the hand-wringing about her rivals.

"Raising $47.5 million is high-class problem to have," he said. "Where do I sign up to get that problem? It's a phenomenal number for a Democrat to put up."

Contributing: Christopher Schnaars and Erin Raftery, USA TODAY