Campaign On This gave you a quick bio and campaign finance breakdown on Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, who is seeking the Republican Nomination for President in 2016.
The second major name to throw his hat in the ring is Republican Senator Rand Paul from Kentucky. He is the son of former Representative Ron Paul of Texas. Both father and son are physicians. Rand Paul was elected to the Senate in 2010 alongside his father, who was serving in the House of Representatives. This was the first time in congressional history that a father and son served simultaneously in both Houses of Congress. Senator Paul has been assigned to multiple committees in the Senate, which include the Committee on Foreign Relations; the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions; the Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs; and the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship. Senator Paul also previously served on the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
Between 2011 and 2014, Rand’s Campaign Committee raised $14,009,888 and spent a total of $11,111,544. His top five contributors were Club for Growth, Mason Capital Management, Alliance Resource Partners, Senate Conservatives Fund and the National Right to Work Committee. The top five industries that donated to his cause were Retirees, Health Professionals, Republicans/Conservatives, Securities and Investment, and Leadership PACs. The breakdown of his fund sources consists of Individual Contributions (85%), PAC Contributions (5%), and Other (10%). Individual Contributions make up a large portion of these funds and are further broken down into two categories: Small Individual Contributions (43%) and Large Individual Contributions (42%). Interestingly, Rand Paul’s self-financing was 0%. The charts below provide a closer look at these numbers.
What are your thoughts on where the fundraising money for Rand Paul’s campaign came from, and did any of this data surprise you, especially the fact that Senator Paul did not self-finance his campaign? How does Senator Paul compare to Senator Cruz?
