Billionaires crowd out the Bundlers in White House Race

During the 2012 presidential campaign, Montana lumber company owner Sherm Anderson found it "fairly easy" to help raise $2 million from his fellow Republicans to boost Mitt Romney's presidential hopes.

Anderson expects a far tougher road in 2016, given the growing dominance of super PACs and other outside groups that are amassing millions in political contributions from a small cluster of the nation's richest individuals.

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"It turns small contributors off," Anderson said. "They say, 'Gee whiz, I thought I was helping by giving $100 or $1,000, but how can I help when someone else is giving $100,000?' "

"These super PACs are definitely changing the dynamic," he said.

The concentration of huge campaign sums in a handful of super PACs is fast remaking the White House race, as campaigns grow increasingly dependent on donations from a wealthy few to fuel their political ambitions. Super PACs and other outside groups that can raise unlimited sums from corporations, individuals and unions, have swiftly amassed nearly $300 million for the 2016 White House battle, outpacing the amounts collected by candidates themselves.

A USA TODAY analysis shows donations of $1 million or more account for nearly half of the money channeled into candidate-aligned super PACs and other outside groups during the first six months of the election cycle.

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