By Beth Reinhard and Rebecca Ballhaus
Wall Street opened its wallet for Republican presidential
contender Jeb Bush and Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton in
their first weeks as candidates, despite the sometimes tough talk
on the campaign trail about closing the nation's wealth gap.
Mr. Bush collected nearly $145,000 from employees at Goldman
Sachs and almost $167,000 coming from seven other big banks.
Another $63,100 in contributions came from employees of the
financial firm Neuberger Berman, run by his cousin, George Herbert
Walker IV, who previously worked at Goldman Sachs, according to
campaign financial-disclosure reports released Wednesday.
During his six years as an adviser for the defunct Wall Street
bank Lehman Bros. and later at Barclays PLC, Mr. Bush said he
earned, on average, between $1.3 million and $2 million a year.
Employees of Barclays have donated $29,700, so far.
Mrs. Clinton, the Democratic front-runner, collected about
$300,000 from employees at the nation's six largest banks, with
about $88,000 coming from Morgan Stanley executives alone, and
about $62,000 from workers at J.P. Morgan Chase & Co.
The Clintons have long enjoyed ties to Wall Street, a
vulnerability for her with some Democratic primary voters who blame
big banks for many of the nation's financial problems. In an
economic speech this week, she vowed to tighten oversight of the
industry, but steered clear of the regulatory proposals most
loathed on Wall Street that have been offered by her Democratic
challengers.
The former secretary of state also may be vulnerable to attacks
from her primary rivals after abandoning President Barack Obama's
ban on donations from lobbyists.
Forty federally registered lobbyists raised more than $2 million
since April for Mrs. Clinton's campaign, according to her
disclosure. They include longtime Clinton fundraiser Heather
Podesta and Jackson Dunn, a lobbyist with FTI Consulting and former
aide to President Bill Clinton who raised the most for her
campaign: $230,000.
Mr. Bush, who announced his candidacy 15 days before the filing
deadline, reported eight lobbyists who are using their own networks
of friends and family to bundle checks for the campaign.
The two top performers were William Killmer of the Mortgage
Bankers Association, who collected $36,200, followed by Dirk Van
Dongen of the National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors, who
collected $33,900.
Mr. Bush has said he raised $11.4 million for his campaign,
which can accept individual contributions of up to $2,700 for the
primary.
Mrs. Clinton, who announced her candidacy in April, raised $46.7
million. Both also have friendly super PACs, which can raise and
spend unlimited sums. When funds from the super PACs and other
outside groups are combined with the campaign cash, Mr. Bush has
nearly $120 million backing him, and Mrs. Clinton has $70
million.
Disclosure reports covering fundraising and spending by the
candidates were due by midnight Wednesday, offering the first
glimpse of who is supporting the candidates and how the money is
being spent. Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker wasn't required to file a
report this quarter because of his July 2 entry into the race.
Their aligned super PACs will file disclosure reports later this
month.
Republican Rand Paul's filing show signs of potential trouble.
His strength with the grassroots is lagging other candidates, and
the Kentucky senator is struggling to attract the sort of large
donors who power presidential runs.
Mr. Paul raised $3.2 million from contributors who gave less
than $200--more than only Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Ben Carson among
GOP candidates--and he collected just $2.1 million from donors
giving $200 or more, a paltry sum for someone long considered a
first-tier candidate. Mr. Paul's presidential campaign also
transferred $1.6 million from his Senate campaign accounts.
Florida Sen. Marco Rubio raised $8.8 million and transferred
another $3.2 million into his presidential campaign from his Senate
account, ending June with $9.8 million in the bank, more than any
other Republican. His campaign also spent roughly 18% of the total
money he took in, including the transfer from his Senate campaign,
a lower rate of spending than many of his rivals.
Mr. Rubio also attracted support on Wall Street, raising more
money--$54,450--from the employees of Goldman Sachs than any other
company. Morgan Stanley was a distant second, with employee
donation checks totaling $12,000.
Mr. Rubio reported receiving $10,770 in contributions from
executives at Elliott Management Corp., the hedge fund founded by
GOP mega-donor Paul Singer.
The Rubio campaign reported refunding roughly $821,000 in
donations, the bulk of which were contributions to his Senate
account that were earmarked for the general election. And nearly
$600,000 of the money he raised as a presidential candidate was
specifically dedicated to the general election, meaning he can't
use those funds for the primary.
Republican Donald Trump lent $1.8 million to his presidential
campaign in the second quarter, and raised another $100,000,
fulfilling a promise he made in his campaign launch speech to
self-finance his bid.
In the second quarter, he burned through 74% of his cash,
including more than $500,000 on airfare, his highest expense in a
single category, his disclosure reports show. He also spent $1,640
on a limousine service while in Iowa May, and used Uber twice while
in California.
In contrast, Democrat Bernie Sanders held on to much of his
cash. The Vermont senator raised $15.2 million and had $12.1
million in cash at the end of the quarter.
The Cruz campaign spent more than half of the $10 million it
raised between the beginning of April and the end of June. Its
single biggest expenditure was $893,252 spent with Campaign
Solutions, a digital fundraising firm. His campaign spent another
$686,081 with CampaignHQ, an Iowa-based fundraising firm led by a
GOP operative that specializes in outreach to conservatives and
evangelicals.
Mr. Bush's campaign spent more than $3 million in its first two
weeks, leaving him with $8.35 million. His biggest expense was
$372,647 for computer equipment, followed by $308,687 for media
production and political consulting, $280,835 for air charter and
$259,201 for event production and travel.
Former New York Gov. George Pataki, an afterthought at this
point in the Republican nominating contest, raised just $255,794
during his first quarter as a candidate, according to a filing
Wednesday with the Federal Election Commission.
The Pataki campaign spent just $48,174, leaving him with
$207,620 in the bank. The former New York governor raised 62% of
his total from residents of the Empire State.
Laura Meckler contributed to this article.
Write to Beth Reinhard at beth.reinhard@wsj.com and Rebecca
Ballhaus at Rebecca.Ballhaus@wsj.com
Access Investor Kit for Barclays Plc
Visit
http://www.companyspotlight.com/partner?cp_code=P479&isin=GB0031348658
Access Investor Kit for Barclays Plc
Visit
http://www.companyspotlight.com/partner?cp_code=P479&isin=US06738E2046
Access Investor Kit for FTI Consulting, Inc.
Visit
http://www.companyspotlight.com/partner?cp_code=P479&isin=US3029411093
Access Investor Kit for The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.
Visit
http://www.companyspotlight.com/partner?cp_code=P479&isin=US38141G1040
Access Investor Kit for JPMorgan Chase & Co.
Visit
http://www.companyspotlight.com/partner?cp_code=P479&isin=US46625H1005
Access Investor Kit for Morgan Stanley
Visit
http://www.companyspotlight.com/partner?cp_code=P479&isin=US6174464486
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires