Smart Lynn Vavreck NYT Upshot column:

Mr. Trump may continue to eschew money from lobbyists and special interests and condemn those candidates who take it, but a closer look at the F.E.C. fund-raising numbers reveals an interesting pattern that underscores the importance of campaign organization in soliciting donations: Candidates who are good at raising money from super PACs are also good at raising money from individual donors. And vice versa.

Mr. Bush, Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio have all raised a lot of money from super PACs and outside groups, but they are also the top three candidates in terms of campaign contributions by individual donors. Dismissing candidates who raise unlimited sums of money from outside groups as being indebted to those interests and therefore untrustworthy ignores the fact that those candidates are also the ones raising the most money from more limited individual contributions.

The explanation for this pattern may in part come from the candidate’s appeal among the electorate and within the party. But another important part is the professionalism of their organizations and their ability to find and ask the right people to contribute across a range of possibilities.