Washington (CNN) - Sarah Palin's political action committee raised more than $865,000 over the last three months, according to a newly filed report with the Federal Election Commission – the former Alaska governor's biggest quarterly take since SarahPAC was launched in early 2009.
But the PAC's fundraising so far this year has been roughly on pace with its 2009 efforts. Palin raised more than $1.2 million since the beginning of this year, about $200,000 less than she raised in the second half of 2009.
She finished the quarter with roughly $1 million in the bank.
Palin's big haul between April and June – and the $742,000 spent by the PAC in the same period – reflects her stepped up political activity in recent months. As November's midterm election near, Palin's team spent more than $17,000 on charter jet travel to campaign for candidates and deliver speeches nationwide.
The committee's largest expenditure of the second quarter was the PAC's first direct mail fundraising effort, which cost more than $150,000 but has netted more than $600,000 so far, according to committee treasurer Tim Crawford. Palin has mostly relied on internet fundraising since launching the Virginia-based PAC in January 2009.
The PAC continued to pay a small clutch of consultants, including several who worked closely with Palin during her vice presidential campaign, for domestic and foreign policy advice, political consulting, logistics and speechwriting.
Befitting the PAC's mission to help conservative-minded candidates this fall, Palin doled out almost $90,000 to Republican candidates, including a handful in the key presidential nominating states of Iowa and South Carolina. Iowa Sen. Charles Grassley, for instance, received $5,000 from Palin.
Palin gave $5,000 to Joe Miller, a Tea Party-backed challenger to Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski - but she also contributed to Virginia House candidate Robert Hurt, who drew several Tea Party opponents in his Republican primary earlier this year.
Though Palin's endorsement of South Carolina gubernatorial candidate Nikki Haley is credited with helping Haley secure the GOP nomination, SarahPAC did not contribute to Haley's campaign, according to the FEC filings. Meanwhile, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, a potential 2012 rival of Palin's, steered $42,000 to the Haley campaign.
Romney's Free and Strong America, which submits its financial numbers monthly, has not filed its June report but raised more than $1 million during the months of April and May taken together.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty has not posted his second quarter numbers, but a spokesman said his Freedom First PAC will report raising $700,000 in the last three months.
From CNN Politics
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Most politicians start out wanting to do good and end up doing well ($).
I believe Sarah wanted to just do well from the beginning. Congrats. girl, NOT!
Love her! After the disaster we elected into office in 2008 Sarah is starting to look better and better.
Palin 2012 !!
Here's my two cents worth: she's a loser.
It's amazing that according to the libs and the media
as dumb as this woman is supposed to be, SHE STILL
PAYS HER BILLS ON TIME !!!!!
Unlike a lot of democratic women we all know.
Who had you rather have running the economy, someone who
CAN balance their own checkbook or someone who can't ?
Common sense has always gone a lot further than genius
when it comes to leadership. Case in point, the President.
Fools and their money are soon parted.
I wish I could send her some money.
But I can't because of what the brilliant democrats
did with Fannie and Freddie and what they've done since.
Kinda puts that half-a-billion Pres. Obama raised during the election into perspective, huh?
Stupid people need to spend their money on something.
This is it
Rusty
Run, Sarah,run. Do us all a favor-run for pres. That will make you a two time loser.
I am disappointed that there are so many dimwitted Americans willing to donate to such an ognorant person.
Not sure what this woman's appeal is other than her physical attractiveness. But substantively, she is an airhead, a childish, kneejerk, reactionary with no general fund of information on any subject. She can best serve herself by keeping her mouth shut, as every time she opens it and says something in that whiny, screechy, shrill voice of hers, particularly since what she says makes no sense whatsoever, she isn't doing herself or the person she is campaigning for any favors. Then she resorts to Twitter so we do not have to be subjected to that voice – but still nothing of any substance is expressed! Total dimwit.
How anyone can pay money to hear the "Town Idiot" read off the palm of her hand is just beyond me. I would much rather give that money to charity, not a charity case.
Just goes to show you there alot of idiots in the world the will pay to hear a even bigger idiot speak!!!
Palin is like a televangelist. She is able to make money from the ignorance of the people who follow her. I'm certain that if one conducted a study to find the average educational level of a Palin follower the results would indicate little to no college and a lot of high school drop-outs.
A fool and his money are soon parted.
Why is it legal for someone or someone's name to be used for rasing money for politics if they are not running for something? Shouldn't she be a candidate if it's the "Sarah" PAC?
Politicts gets more corrupt and out of control every day and we seem to do nothing about it. When does it stop? How do we stop it?
I can see November 2nd, 2010 from my front porch. Say goodbye to the democratic held congress. Say hello to the lame duck Obama.
Say goodbye to Card Check, Cap and Tax, Amnesty to illegals, etc.
Say goodbye to ACORN, SIEU writing legislation in the basement of the WH. Say hello to the senate filibustering any attempt by the democrat's passing legislation in their lame duck session before getting the boot in January. Say hello to Obama's fraud being uncovered and exposed by Issa. Say hello to congesssional inquiries. Say goodbye to Pelosi and Reid's rein of terror on America.