Palm Beach, an island only 16 miles long and less than a mile wide, is home to the wealthy and politically active. It's a small island with big money and it's an important place in the world of presidential politics. It's the place where presidential candidates often go for financial help.
The most recent federal elections reports from the candidates paint an interesting picture of campaign contributions. Republican front-runner Donald Trump is clearly no stranger to the island. His winter home is Mar-a-Lago. Yet, he raised just $7,450 from seven residents. But that doesn't seem to matter, Trump has mostly funded his own race for the nomination.
"The first thing you have to do to be able to fundraise...is ask." said Kevin Wagner, an associate professor of political science at FAU. "At this point, it's not clear Mr. Trump has spent a lot of time asking people to donate to his campaign. He claims he's not asking at all."
Trump's main opponent right now, Ted Cruz, has out-raised Trump on the island, bringing in $139,211 from 48 donors.
Interestingly enough, most of the Palm Beach contributors put there money on two candidates, who dropped out of the race: Former Governor Jeb Bush and Senator Marco Rubio.
According to records, both raised more than $200,000 and had more than 100 Palm Beach donors each.
Among Rubio's donors were members of the Koch family, big political contributors.
None of the candidates have raised as much as Hillary Clinton on the island. Her campaign brought in $269,152.20 from 117 donors.
Senator Bernie Sanders, a democratic socialist, ranked dead last among the candidates when it comes to fundraising on Palm Beach. He's attracted 10 donors, raising $5,612.50.
