Money, It’s a Gas: Grab That Cash With Both Hands and Make a Stash

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Interesting notes from the presidential fundraising numbers for the third quarter that were released today:

– When identifying the corporation or other entity that gave most to a candidate, the answer usually turns out to be a finance company, a law firm, or some other major corporate interest. Hillary Clinton, for example, raised an astonishing $207,670 from employees of Morgan Stanley, $186,540 from employees of Goldman Sachs, and $96,015 from employees of Citigroup. Not Ron Paul. The oft-slighted Republican congressman from Texas raised more money from members of the U.S. Army than from anywhere else. (This is no surprise to readers of MoJoBlog.) The entity supplying the second most? Google.

– Mitt Romney is also an exception. He gets more money from employees of The Villages, a Florida retirement community, than anywhere else. Romney has loaned a whopping $17.4 million of his own money to the campaign. Meanwhile, he only has $9.2 million in cash-on-hand. Without his own personal wealth propping up the campaign, Romney is in McCain territory.

– Speaking of, John McCain is in debt (and I grow sad). The man from Arizona has roughly $1.6 million to spend in the primary, but $1.7 million in debts. Not. Good.

– Gov. Bill Richardson drew more money from New Mexico state employees than from employees of any other entity.

– Republican Duncan Hunter has yet to top $2 million for the entire campaign. Mike Huckabee, who really checks all the boxes for the Republican base, can’t get it going either. He’s only raised $2.3 million for the campaign. When do we get to drop-out territory?

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ONLY HOURS LEFT—AND EVERYTHING RIDING ON IT

A full one-third of our annual fundraising comes in this month alone. That’s risky, because a strong December means our newsroom is on the beat and reporting at full strength—but a weak one means budget cuts and hard choices ahead.

With just hours left, we need a huge surge in reader support to get to our $400,000 year-end goal. Whether you've given before or this is your first time, your contribution right now matters. All gifts are 3X matched and tax-deductible.

Managing an independent, nonprofit newsroom is staggeringly hard. There’s no cushion in our budget—no backup revenue, no corporate safety net. We can’t afford to fall short, and we can’t rely on corporations or deep-pocketed interests to fund the fierce, investigative journalism Mother Jones exists to do. That’s why we need you right now. Please chip in to help close the gap.

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