More than $400 million floods presidential contest
This post has been updated
The price tag of the 2016 election just went up again.
Two outside groups supporting Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's presidential campaign announced Tuesday that they had raised more than $26.2 million -- putting Team Walker in fourth place among the outside committees active in the GOP primary.
In all, president candidates of both parties and the outside groups supporting them now have reported collecting $403 million during the first six months of this year, a Paste BN tally shows.
The super PAC backing Walker has raised the lion's share of his total -- more than $20 million. A second pro-Walker group, called Our American Revival, collected $6.2 million.
PAC officials say nearly 300 people contributed to the pro-Walker super PAC, Unintimidated PAC, which takes its name from the title of Walker's 2013 book that chronicled his showdown with public-employee unions and his successful effort to survive a recall election.
"Governor Walker's record of fighting for and winning conservative reforms is translating into tremendous grassroots and financial support from across the country," Keith Gilkes, a former Walker aide who oversees the PAC, said in a statement.
Gilkes said all the money was raised before Walker officially entered the the nomination contest last week. The Wisconsin governor won't have to disclose how much he has raised for his official campaign committee until October.
Walker's haul underscores how much spending by outside groups will shape the 2016 presidential contest. Super PACs, spawned by a pair of federal court rulings in 2010, face no limits on the amount of money they can accept from corporations, individuals and unions. Bush's super PAC sits atop the field, having collected $103 million during the first six months of the year.
Just counting outside money in the GOP race, Sen. Ted Cruz is in the No. 2 slot with $37 million raised through several super PACs, while Sen. Marco Rubio holds the No. 3 slot position with nearly $32 million from a super PAC and a non-profit group.