Pro-Clinton Super PAC Raises Almost $6M

The super PAC urging Hillary Rodham Clinton to run for president said Thursday that it raised $1.7 million in the first three months of the year, almost all of it from small-dollar donors.

But the group had a number of bold-faced names who had given $25,000, including Laurene Powell Jobs, the widow of Apple founder Steve Jobs. Former California Assembly speaker Fabian Nunez, former U.S. Trade Representative Glen Fukushima and former Goldman Sachs executive Daniel Neidich also gave the maximum the group accepts.

In all, Ready for Hillary said more than 22,000 new donors gave money to the self-designated Clinton support network between Jan. 1 and March 31. The average contribution was $53, and 98 percent of it was $100 or less.

Ready for Hillary has been collecting names of those who would support Clinton if she runs in 2016. The super PAC has been focused on building buzz and collecting troves of data that could be helpful if Clinton decides to make another run for the White House.

The group is independent of a campaign Clinton would launch if she decides to run.

Its early backers have included Sharon Elghanayan Corzine, the wife of former New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine, gay rights activist and software executive Tim Gill, and former Pennsylvania Bar Association president Leslie Miller. In the last three months, each gave $25,000.

Since its launch, Ready for Hillary has raised $5.75 million. More than 25,000 donors have given the symbolic amount of $20.16.