Fredreka Schouten

USA TODAY

Jeb Bush's exit Saturday from the Republican presidential race set off a scramble for one of his campaign's most valuable assets: the hundreds of deep-pocketed donors who helped launch his bid last year with a $100 million war chest.

Supporters of Bush's one-time protege, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, insisted their candidate would quickly win over those contributors.

Brian Ballard, a Florida lobbyist who switched his support from Bush to Rubio last year, said he had planned to call about 40 Bush donors from Florida on Sunday to urge them to move to Rubio’s camp. About half already had called him before Saturday night was over, he said.

“The campaign money is going to go flying to Rubio,” he said.

There are signs Rubio could use a cash infusion.

His campaign raised about $5 million in January and ended the month with roughly the same amount in the bank, according to reports filed Saturday night with the Federal Election Commission. But only about half of Rubio's remaining cash can be used for the primary fight. A pro-Rubio super PAC, Conservative Solutions PAC, collected even less in January than his campaign, nearly $2.5 million.

“There’s no doubt that the Rubio campaign and super PAC could use a bump,” Ballard said. “And it’s clear that it’s going to happen.”

The super PAC’s organizers appear confident they would have the necessary funds, announcing Saturday night that they would launch a new multi-state advertising campaign to boost Rubio ahead of a slew of Southern state primaries March 1. They did not say how much they would spend on the new ad buys.

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Campaign-finance reports released Saturday night, meanwhile, show that Texas Sen. Ted Cruz was in a strong position heading into the primary season. He ended January with $13.6 million in cash reserves, and more than half a dozen super PACs have been created to boost his candidacy. Several are sitting on big cash stockpiles.

Donald Trump, whose win in South Carolina on Saturday night cemented his position as the GOP front-runner, isn't afflicted with the same fundraising concerns as his rivals. Last month, the billionaire real-estate mogul loaned his campaign $4.9 million to help fund last-minute advertising in the early voting states, More than two thirds of all the money sustaining his unorthodox candidacy has come out of his own pocket.

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Last year, Bush emerged as the early front-runner of the crowded GOP contest, collecting a record $103 million in a six-month period for his Right to Rise super PAC — only to stumble after shaky performances on the debate stage and campaign trail.

His departure now frees scores of top political advisers and some of the Republican Party's most prolific fundraisers.

On Saturday night, some said it was too soon to move on.

"I am going to digest all that has transpired to date," Al Cardenas, a senior Bush adviser, said in an email Saturday night. He said he would take some time to decide whether to jump onto another presidential campaign or work to ensure that Republicans retain their majority in Congress,

"Tomorrow, I will try to play golf, go to church and not think," he added.

Contributing: Ledyard King