Hillary Clinton has spent more on polling than six Republican presidential candidates combined, a new MSNBC report found.
According to MSNBC legal correspondent Ari Melber, Clinton spent $720,00 on polls in the last quarter. The quarter before that, she almost spent $2 million:
Hillary Clinton spent $720,000 on polls last quarter—as much as the six top Republican candidates combined. About $477,000 of that went to the firm of Joel Benenson, a pollster for Mrs. Clinton, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama. In the previous quarter, Clinton’s polling bill was even higher—at $1.9 million.
[Michael] Simon, the Obama campaign veteran, said the tab must reflect planning for a national race.
"There’s no way to spend $700,000 in three states on polling," he told NBC. "It’s got to be a larger set of polling, or something else there."
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.), who has emerged as a stronger-than-expected challenger to Clinton’s 2016 bid for the Democratic presidential nomination, has also spent a lot on polling, spending more than $500,000 last quarter. That was more than any other Republican as well.
Sanders battled Clinton to a virtual tie in Iowa, although Clinton eked out a victory.
In comparison, Sen. Ted Cruz (R., Tx.) spent $380,000 on polls leading up to his victory in the Iowa caucus, and Sen. Marco Rubio (R., Fla.) and Jeb Bush spent a little more than $150,000 apiece last quarter. Outsider candidates Donald Trump and Dr. Ben Carson did not spend any money on polling, according to campaign spending summaries.