Inside the Pawlenty haul: 3 states boost GOP hopeful’s coffers

Tim Pawlenty’s presidential campaign raised $4.3 million and spent nearly $2.5 million in the second quarter of the year, according to campaign finance reports filed with the Federal Election Commission.

More than $2 million of the former Minnesota governor’s haul came from three states: $1.06 million from Minnesota, $669,400 from California and $418,340 from Texas.

Last month, the Washington Post reported that senior advisors to the campaign were going without pay, suggesting that Pawlenty was struggling on the fundraising front. The campaign spent nearly $600,000, however, on payroll expenses to employ about three dozen staff members, and added staff throughout the quarter.

The detailed expense records provide a window into the habits of each campaign – favored restaurants, hotels, airlines and banks.

Food-wise, the Palwenty campaign appears to prefer McDonald’s, Quiznos and Starbucks. Delta is the favored airline; Hilton the preferred hotel.

The campaign also spent $7 at a Godfather’s Pizza shop in Winterset, Iowa. The pizza chain was once run by Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain.

Pawlenty raised an additional $116,000 in the days before the start of the second quarter.