Manchester, New Hampshire (CNN) - Rep. Ron Paul's presidential campaign raised $13 million the past three months, a top campaign aide confirmed to CNN.
The impressive haul far exceeds the $8.2 million the longtime congressman from Texas brought in over $8 million in the third quarter of 2011. Paul raised around $4.5 million in campaign cash in the April-June second quarter of last year.
Paul had a strong third place finish Tuesday in Iowa's caucuses, grabbing 21% of the vote.
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich says he brought in around $10 million in fundraising last quarter, and sources say former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney's campaign may report around $20 million in fundraising for the past three months.
Rick Santorum raised around $1.1 million the past 24 hours, thanks to nearly edging out Romney for the top spot in Tuesday night's caucuses.
Campaign cash is crucial for candidates, as it pays for ads, direct mail, get out the vote efforts, travel, and organization. But it's not everything. Case in point: Rick Perry's campaign had $15 million in the bank as of October 1, but thanks to debate stumbles by the Texas governor, Perry's poll numbers dropped and he finished a disappointing fifth place in Iowa.
Paul's cash haul was first reported by Politico.
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2012/01/05/paul-rakes-in-13-million-the-past-three-months/?hpt=hp_bn3
