Hillary Clinton relied on small donors for only 19 percent of her primary haul. | AP Photo Red flag for Clinton: Reliance on maxed-out donors Sanders raises more from small donors who can continue giving.

Hillary Clinton is pacing the field in presidential campaign fundraising, but there was one significant red flag in the finance report she filed Sunday night with the Federal Election Commission: She relied on maxed-out donors for a majority of her cash.

Clinton last year raised 58 percent of the $110.4 million she has amassed for the primary campaign from donors who have given maximum $2,700 donations, according to an analysis by the Campaign Finance Institute. Those donors are barred by federal limits from giving again for the primary, though if Clinton wins the Democratic presidential nomination, they’ll be able to donate another $2,700 toward her general election campaign.


Her leading opponent for the nomination, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, on the other hand, in 2015 raised only 2 percent of the $72.8 million he’s amassed for the primary from maxed-out donors. Instead, he relied on small donors who have donated $200 or less for 64 percent of his total haul.

Such donors are considered the gold standard of political fundraising because they can continue to give in small increments over the course of an entire campaign, creating a sustainable revenue stream. Additionally, it’s often less expensive to raise money from small donors, because they give online and don’t attend costly fundraising events.

Clinton, the former secretary of state and senator, relied on small donors for only 19 percent of her primary haul, though her campaign has emphasized its small donor outreach efforts.

On the GOP side, several candidates were even more reliant on maximum donations than Clinton.

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, whose fundraising plummeted with his polls numbers in recent months, in 2015 raised 75 percent of his $16 million in primary funds from maximum donations, versus only 5 percent from small donors. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie raised 74 percent of his $3.6 million haul from tapped out donors, and only 4 percent from donors who gave $200 or less.

On the other side of the ledger were retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson (6 percent of his $46 million from max donors, and 54 percent from small donors) and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz (17 percent of his $42 million from max donors, and 38 percent from small donors).

Skewing the calculation is GOP field leader Donald Trump, a billionaire who has personally provided two-thirds of the $19 million his campaign has taken in. Nonetheless, his campaign has been accepting donations of all sizes, with max donors accounting for 8 percent of the cash he’s raised from supporters, and small donations accounting for 73 percent.