Rick Perry raises $17 million



By Mary Altaffer, AP
Texas Gov. Rick Perry has raised more than $17 million for his presidential campaign.
By Fredreka Schouten, USA TODAY

Updated: 10/05/2011 01:21pm
Updated: 1:15 p.m. ET
Texas Gov. Rick Perry has collected more than $17 million for his presidential bid, making him the likely fundraising leader among Republican candidates in the July-to-September fundraising quarter.
Perry, who entered the race in mid-August, collected the money in 49 days from more than 22,000 contributors, his campaign said in a statement released today. Campaign officials said 51% of the donations came from outside Texas, where Perry is in his third term as governor and has long enjoyed the support of the state's deep-pocketed GOP donors.
Perry ended the quarter with more than $15 million in available cash.
"The generous contributions from Americans across the nation prove the overwhelming support for Gov. Perry's principled, conservative leadership and vision to get America working again," Rob Johnson, Perry's campaign manager, said in a statement.
Another Republican candidate, Texas Rep. Ron Paul, announced this afternoon that he had raised more than $8 million from more than 100,000 donors.
Paul spokesman Jesse Benton said the haul "demonstrates in real numbers the grassroots support Dr. Paul receives from average Americans." Paul had raised $4.5 million in the previous fundraising quarter.
For Perry, the fundraising total gives his campaign a boost after a round of bad news -- including criticism of his performance in recent debates and a Washington Post story about the racially charged name of a hunting camp that Perry and his father had leased in West Texas.
Aides to Mitt Romney , who led GOP fundraising in the April-to-June quarter with a nearly $18.3 million haul, have said his campaign contributions have slowed in recent months. The Boston Globe , citing an unnamed source, last week pegged Romney's third-quarter fundraising at $11 million to $13 million.
Romney spokeswoman Andrea Saul pointed out that Perry's fundraising still falls short of the amount Romney collected during the first three months of the campaign. "We feel good in the strength of our finance team and the fact that we are adding new people every day," Saul said in a statement.
Candidates have until Oct. 15 to submit the details of their third-quarter fundraising and spending to the Federal Election Commission.
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