Sarah Palin raised $469,000 between Oct. 13 and Nov. 22 bringing her total for the year to over $3 million, Tim Crawford, SarahPAC’s treasurer, told TIME exclusively. Crawford attributed the surge of funds to energy surrounding the midterm elections, Palin’s endorsements and her TLC reality show “Sarah Palin’s Alaska.” Her second book, America By Heart, came out Nov. 23.
The PAC spent $64,000 buying advance copies of her books, “just as we did last year” with her first book, Going Rogue, Crawford said. “They’re a great fundraising tool for us.” Palin is in the midst of a two-week cross-country book tour.
(See photos of Sarah Palin’s new reality show.)
Overall the PAC spent $581,000 between Oct. 13 and Nov. 22. A larger percentage than normal was spent on contributions to political candidates, $244,000, as Palin tried to help her 81-endosed candidates over the Nov. 2 finish line. Fifty-five of them won.
All of the $469,000 was raised online or through direct mail. The former Alaska governor has had only two fundraisers for her PAC this year – the last one this past summer — compared to Mitt Romney’s nine. Crawford expects to file his report to the Federal Election Commission this afternoon.