AUSTIN, Texas (AP) _ Rick Perry’s final 2011 fundraising totals are in _ and they show donors turning away from him in droves as his campaign for president faltered.
The Texas governor raised barely $2.9 million between Oct. 1 and Dec. 31, after raking in more than $17 million in just his first seven weeks of campaigning.
Perry entered the race in August and became an almost instant frontrunner. But his popularity slipped in September, and a series of debate flubs hurt it even more.
Perry’s report Monday to the Federal Election Commission shows he spent more than $16 million from August through December.
It says Perry had nearly $3.8 million cash on-hand as of the end of 2011. But he likely spent a large chunk of that before quitting the race Jan. 19.
(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)