Cruz Campaign Press Release - ICYMI: Washington Post: Ted Cruz to report $13.5 million cash on hand — at or near the top of the GOP field

HOUSTON, Texas – The Washington Post's Katie Zezima and Tom Hamburger write that Cruz may have more money than any other GOP presidential candidate in the race, spending only 14 percent on non-fundraising operations. Along with donor lists, the use of text messages and direct mail, the campaign has "built a formidable two-pronged fundraising system designed to provide funds through a long campaign," showing Cruz's ability to be competitive in the early primary states and beyond for the long haul to win the nomination.

Below is an excerpt. The full article may be viewed here.

Cruz's campaign said it has so far spent $3.7 million to run the non-fundraising portion of its campaign operations, just 14 percent of the total. The campaign meantime invested much of its resources back into high-tech fundraising efforts that used data analytics and a technique called "donor modeling." The result, as described by campaign manager Jeff Roe, raised $18 million from a fundraising investment of $8 million so far this year.

Cruz campaign officials said in an interview Wednesday that they have built a formidable two-pronged fundraising system designed to provide funds through a long campaign, an effort that draws support from both small-dollar donors and bundlers who bring in larger sums from associates and friends. The campaign has 219 bundlers who secured $9 million for Cruz as of Wednesday, Roe said. He added that the campaign has had 120,000 total donors through the quarter that ended June 30.

Developing donor lists is an extremely valuable asset to a campaign, noted Kenneth Gross, a former deputy counsel to the Federal Election Commission who advises campaigns — and the one the Cruz team has assembled is "a significant base of names," he said.

The campaign has begun experimenting with an array of fundraising techniques, including the use of text messages, an endeavor that has already proven lucrative thanks to a system of constant monitoring and adjustment of messages.

The operation pulled in $6.1 million online this quarter, spending $1.8 million for a return on investment of 328 percent, Roe said. It is also using sophisticated analytics to pull donations via a more traditional form of campaign solicitation: direct mail. The campaign has spent $1.1 million on mail, getting about $2.7 million in return.