Rick Perry raised $17 million for 2012 bid

Rick Perry raised more than $17 million during his first month and half as a Republican presidential hopeful—a total likely to surpass the cash that any of his other GOP rivals brought in during their third-quarter fundraising.

The Texas governor's campaign is the first to publicly announce his latest fundraising total, but sources close to Mitt Romney's campaign have said that it expects to report between $11 million and $13 million raised between July and September.

Other candidates are likely to announce more modest totals, including Ron Paul, who is expected to bring in more than $5 million. Herman Cain, who has lately surged in the polls, is likely to improve on the $2.3 million he brought in between April and June.

Perry's $17 million total is impressive—especially since it was raised in half the time allotted to other candidates in the quarter. But that outsize take isn't surprising, either, given the governor's reputation as a prolific fundraiser. While Perry jumped in the race on Aug. 13, he and his advisers had made clear he was running for the nomination long before that, prompting donors to have their checks ready.

But that's not the most surprising number Perry announced today. Per his campaign, the governor had $15 million cash on hand as of last week—a sign that Perry, so far, is running a fairly frugal campaign and could potentially have millions to spend as the contest inches closer toward early-primary balloting.

Perry's campaign hopes his healthy fundraising total could offer new momentum to the governor, who has seen his poll ratings plummet amid bad reviews of his debate performance and a spate of negative press over his policy positions and his links to a Texas hunting camp with a racially charged name.

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