Whether Rick Santorum dropped out of the Republican presidential race for personal and/or political reasons, when examining his campaign’s bank accounts, one clearly sees that the lack of money was the root of his campaign’s suspension.
In announcing the suspension Tuesday, Santorum said he “tried to provide a hopeful campaign” and “focused on the dignity of human life.” But when 94% of candidates who raise the most money win elections, his messages had about as much of an electoral impact as his pockets were deep.
According to the OpenSecrets website, which tracks political donations, Santorum’s top six contributors — and assortment of entities ranging from Martin’s Famous Pastry Shoppe to Blue Cross/Blue Shield — donated about $100,000.
As a stark and telling contrast, the inevitable Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney’s top six contributors are all banks.
Goldman Sachs (GS), JPMorgan (JPM), Morgan Stanley (MS), Credit Suisse (CS), Citigroup (C) and Bank of America (BAC) donated about $2.1 million to Romney’s campaign.
President Barack Obama’s contributors include two tech giants, a couple of law firms and two major American universities. Obama’s campaign received $1.1 million from Microsoft (MSFT), Google (GOOG), DLA Piper, Morgan and Morgan, University of California and Harvard University.
The money does not arrive directly from the organizations, but from their political action committees, individual members/employees/owners and those individuals’ immediate families.
Even though Romney received more donations from top donors than Obama, the president has significantly outraised Romney in total campaign contributions at $157.1 million to $74.1 million.
But don’t count Santorum out for 2016. Perhaps the pastry industry will experience a housing-like bubble in the coming years, affording it the capability of donating a bit more money to his campaign.
