According to an FEC report filed today, Sarah Palin’s political action committee, Sarah PAC, raised $733,000. This is the first sign that Palin is capable of raising money on the national level. It was a solid total for Palin, who spent $276,000 on fundraising appeals and a number of consultants in Alaska and Washington. It appears she wisely stayed away from Nordstrom’s and Saks Fifth Avenue.
Mitt Romney, however, was the fundraising winner with $1.4 million taken in by Free and Strong America PAC during the first half of the year. This will give Romney a small advantage as both likely presidential candidates offer their support to Republicans in the 2010 midterms.
Leadership PACs can be useful to presidential candidates as they build their fundraising networks and hire top consultants, but they are not always a good indication of candidate strength. There is almost three years left until primary votes are cast, and some potential candidates have not yet formed PACs.