Trump's war chest one of smallest in recent presidential campaigns

Source: Reuters

By Ginger Gibson and Grant Smith | WASHINGTON/NEW YORK

Republican Donald Trump could go down as the least well-funded presidential candidate in recent campaigns - entering the final month of the election still without the cash to match the level of staff and advertising that has helped power the campaign of his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton.

With less than three weeks until the election, it is too late for Trump to amass the amount of cash he would need to unleash a spending assault that might turn his hobbled campaign around. Through the end of September, Trump raised a total of $163 million - a far cry from Clinton’s $449 million.

Trump, a New York real estate developer who has boasted about his wealth, pledged to use millions of his personal assets to fund his campaign. In addition to the $163 million raised, he put in $47.5 million during the primary and then added another $8.6 million.

Trump’s fundraising deficit has resulted from a series of campaign crises that made wealthy donors reluctant to contribute to his campaign and reflects that he does not enjoy working the fundraising circuit or calling large-dollar donors to ask them to write checks.

-snip-

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-trump-money-idUSKCN12L08Z