Story highlights Jeb Bush's Super PAC had over $98 million cash on hand and raked in contributions from 9,900 donors.

Bush's folks said it raised $11.4 million in the 16 days between the launch and the end of the fundraising quarter

Washington (CNN) Jeb Bush and his allied super PAC raised $114 million to support his campaign, a massive fundraising haul made possible in part by rewriting the rules of how presidential campaigns raise money.

Bush's super PAC, Right to Rise USA, said Thursday it collected $103 million since January, money that it must spend independently to back Bush's presidential bid. Together, Bush's super PAC and campaign came close to raising as much money in the first half of 2015 -- a year before a general election -- as American Crossroads, the second biggest super PAC in 2012, did during the entire two-year cycle.

All groups will be required to file detailed reports by the end of the month, but the Bush super PAC raised two and a half times as much as its current closest competitor.

What enabled its size was an innovative strategy that some of Bush's GOP rivals chose to emulate: By not formally running for President, Bush could keep the independent group close by and help it grow into a political and financial juggernaut.

Fundraisers and strategists had questioned aloud whether or not Bush would succeed in raising the $100 million, a benchmark repeatedly swatted away by campaign aides looking to measure expectations. But it was never in doubt that the former Florida governor would lead the pack by a significant margin.

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