Ron Paul raised $13 million in final months of 2011

Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) raised $13 million last quarter for his presidential campaign, the most he has raised in a single quarter since he declared his candidacy but far short of his single-quarter fund-raising record.

That figure puts Paul in second or third place among the GOP field, depending on Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s haul, which is not expected to come anywhere near the $17.2 million he raised in the third quarter, when he announced his candidacy.

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who raised a combined $32.2 million in the first two quarters of the campaign, will report raising more than $20 million in the last three months of the year, according to sources familiar with his fund-raising operation.

Paul’s fourth-quarter haul does not include any money for the general election, spokesman Jesse Benton said. Not surprisingly, that means Paul continues to rely on small contributions from donors who have not hit the $2,500 limit for giving to his primary campaign.

Paul’s single-quarter fund-raising record is $19.5 million, which he raised in the fourth quarter of 2007.

Perry, who finished in fifth place in the Iowa caucuses Tuesday night, initially hinted that he would suspend his campaign, but on Wednesday morning declared that he would press on in South Carolina, where the primary is just over two weeks away. Still, the poor showing in Iowa is likely to hurt his fund-raising efforts.

Perry has roughly $3.5 million cash on hand, according to Politico.

Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, who raised less than $1.3 million in the first two quarters of the campaign, raised $1 million on Wednesday alone, following his second-place finish, just eight votes behind Romney, in the Iowa caucuses.

Santorum said his Wednesday haul represents 50% of all the money he’s raised in the campaign, meaning his total for the final quarter of 2011 is in the six-figure range.

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich will report raising about $10 million in the fourth quarter, bringing his 2011 total to about $13 million.

Gingrich saw a flood of donations in November and December, when he was surging in the polls. But his fourth-place finish in the Iowa caucuses is likely to slow his fund-raising pace going forward, which could be problematic for a campaign that carried some debt into the new year.

kim.geiger@latimes.com