Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton (Don Emmert, AFP/Getty Images)

Democratic presidential contender Hillary Clinton is raising and spending more than any other White House candidate, as she races to build a substantial field operation in her second bid for the presidency.

Her campaign amassed nearly $29.5 during the third quarter, most of which can be used for the primary fight, and her aides quickly burned through $25.8 million in those three months.

Despite the heavy spending, Clinton headed into the fall campaign with $33 million in available cash reserves for the nomination battle, edging past the $27 million rival Bernie Sanders had in leftover money at the start of October.

No other candidate — Democrat or Republican — had stockpiled as much money as Clinton for the race that may ultimately cost more than $2 billion.

Clinton and Sanders have set a blistering fundraising pace, racing past the leading Republican candidates over the summer and building big donor pools. Sanders, a self-described democratic socialist, has parlayed his popularity with liberals into a substantial campaign war chest, raising more than $26 million during the quarter.

He claims 650,000 donors; Clinton said she has roughly 400,000.

The closest rival to the Democrats in fundraising: Retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, who collected more than $20 million between July and September, 60% of which came in amounts smaller than $200. Candidates favored by the Republican establishment, including former Florida governor Jeb Bush, lagged far behind.

One of Clinton’s largest expenses during the third quarter: staff. Roughly $8.7 million — more than a third of her operating costs — went to payroll and related expenses.

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump (Mic Smith, AP)

GOP presidential front-runner Donald Trump has repeatedly said he doesn't need your money to fund his campaign because he's "really rich" and can handle this presidential race on his own.

The only problem, contributors aren't listening.

The blunt-talking billionaire says his unconventional campaign took in $3.9 million during the July-to-September fundraising quarter and almost of it was other people's cash, according to documents filed Thursday with the Federal Election Commission. Trump donated just $100,779 to his campaign during the three-month period.

Nearly three-quarters of the $3.8 million in contributions Trump received during the quarter came in amounts of $200 or smaller.

During the first fundraising quarter of his candidacy, Trump gave himself a $1.8 million loan. In all, he's spent $1,909,576 on his own campaign.

Donald J. Trump for President has spent $5.5 million so far, which the candidate notes is far less than his rivals. "To be number one in every poll, both state and national, and to have spent the least amount of dollars of any serious candidate is a testament to what I can do for America," Trump said in a statement.

And, for the record, the campaign says they will continue to take small-dollar donations as people "proudly invest" in Trump's vision.

Sen Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. (Tim Kimzey, AP)

WASHINGTON — Sen. Lindsey Graham raised $1.052 million in the third quarter and has $1.65 million cash on hand, his presidential campaign said tonight.

Graham, the South Carolina Republican who has made foreign policy his campaign focus, spent almost $2 million between July 1 and Sept. 30.

His fundraising is modest compared to the front runners in the Republican field, but he starts the fourth quarter with more in his campaign account than Bobby Jindal of Louisiana and Chris Christie of New Jersey. Graham’s campaign travel has focused on New Hampshire in recent weeks.

Graham declared his candidacy June 1 and had raised $3.7 million through June 30, including a $1.5 million transfer from his Senate campaign account. A pro-Graham super PAC, Security is Strength, has also been financing ads in the Granite State.

The full campaign finance report, including his list of donors, will be filed later tonight.

Ohio Gov. John Kasich announces his federal budget plan on Oct. 15, 2015, at Nashua Community College in Nashua, N.H. (Jim Cole, AP)

Ohio Gov. John Kasich raised $4.4 million in his first two and a half months as a presidential candidate, trailing the third-quarter fundraising of nearly all his rivals for the GOP nomination.

The fundraising total released Thursday puts Kasich behind candidates ranging from poll leaders Ben Carson and Carly Fiorina, to established politicians Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio, to Tea Party darling Ted Cruz.

Since other candidates have been raising money longer than Kasich, the $2.7 million the Ohio governor’s campaign had in the bank on Oct. 1 also trails those candidates’ cash-on-hand figures. That raises questions about Kasich’s ability to build a campaign operation that will compete with the likes of Bush, even though Kasich has strong support among New Hampshire’s political leaders and a political action committee running commercials on his behalf.

Still, the Kasich campaign has kicked off with relative frugality. Kasich spent 40% of the haul he raised since his July 21 campaign launch — far below the “burn rate” of Bush, the former Florida governor.

Bush’s torrid fundraising pace slowed dramatically in the three months that ended Sept. 30. When he first became a candidate, Bush raised $11.4 million over a roughly two-week period. He then spent the next three months raising $13.4 million — and spent almost all of it. He started October with $10.3 million on hand.

Kasich’s campaign edged out one key rival: New Jersey’s Chris Christie. The two are both governors with some moderate stances and plain-spoken styles, so they’re likely competing for the same group of voters. Christie reported a fundraising haul of $4.2 million in the three months that ended Sept. 30. He started the month with just $1.4 million in the bank.

Contributing: The Cincinnati Enquirer’s Jessie Balmert and USA TODAY’s Fredreka Schouten

The Republican presidential candidates during last month’s debate in California. (AP)

Donald Trump is not pleased with what he’s heard about the next Republican debate, and he and fellow nominee Ben Carson reportedly may boycott if the rules aren’t changed, according to a letter obtained by NBC News.

In the letter, sent Thursday to CNBC’s Matthew Cuddy, the candidates’ campaigns say that they will not appear in a debate that is more than 120 minutes long. They also contend that the debate should include opening and closing statements.

CNBC is hosting the debate, the third for Republicans, in Boulder, Colo., on Oct. 28.

“Neither Mr. Trump or Dr. Carson will will participate in your debate if it is longer than 120 minutes including commercials and does not include opening and closing statements,” the letter reads.

Trump also took to Twitter to show his displeasure:

The New York Times, citing unnamed sources discussing a conference call, reported that several Republican campaigns are unhappy with the rules set by CNBC. Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski told the Times in an interview that "it is difficult to participate" in the CNBC debate until the criteria is outlined. Lewandowski also emphasized that it’s “imperative” that the debate be limited to two hours.

In a statement, CNBC said that in past debates it has not allowed opening statements in order to “quickly address the critical issues that matter most to the American people.” It has also said it has opened “a dialogue” with all the campaigns, “and we will certainly take the candidates’ views on the format into consideration as we finalize the debate structure.”

Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus said, "we have the most diverse and experienced field of candidates in history and we applaud CNBC's efforts to ensure that all of our top candidates will have an opportunity to share their views with the American people."

Contributing: Jessica Estepa

White House press secretary Josh Earnest and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz. (AP)

Baseball and politics — both hard-hitting pursuits.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest is reveling in the baseball success of his Kansas City Royals — so much so that he took a poke at Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz and the fact he was born in Canada.

Earnest said the Royals now play “Ted Cruz’s other hometown team”: The Toronto Blue Jays.

Ba-dum-bum!

Earnest made the crack a day after the Royals knocked out the Houston Astros, which play in Cruz’s current city.

Worth noting: Cruz was actually born in Calgary, Canada, where his parents worked in the oil business. (Cruz is an American citizen because his mother hails from the United States.)

Still, in the sporting spirit, Earnest offered to bet Cruz on the outcome of the Kansas City-Toronto series for the American League title.

“All I’m saying is that if Senator Cruz would like to make a bet with me about our respective home town teams, that they know how to track me down,” Earnest said. “We’ll have to work this out in private, but we can have a little fun, so we’ll see … We’ll see if they’re interested.”

Joe Biden (Associated Press)

Vice President Biden isn’t talking about his presidential prospects, offering a variety of “no comments” to reporters Thursday as he prepared to welcome South Korean President Park Geun-Hye to the vice presidential residence.

“I’ll answer in Korean,” Biden joked when asked whether he will seek the presidency in 2016.

Biden, who is under increasing pressure to decide on way or another, offered variations on a theme when pressed on the question:

“I can’t hear you.”

“I’m here to greet President Park. I’ll talk to you all about that later.”

“I’ll tell you what … good to see you all. “

As they say: Stay tuned.

Hillary Clinton (AFP/Getty Images)

A second Republican lawmaker said the House Select Committee on Benghazi was designed to politically tarnish Hillary Clinton.

New York Rep. Richard Hanna said Wednesday on a New York radio program that “sometimes the biggest sin you can commit in D.C. is to tell the truth.'' He was referring to Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy's prior comments crediting the committee with Clinton's declining poll numbers.

“This may not be politically correct, but I think that there was a big part of this investigation that was designed to go after people and an individual, Hillary Clinton,” Hanna told New York's WIBX 950.

“After what Kevin McCarthy said, it’s difficult to accept at least a part of it was not. I think that’s the way Washington works. But you’d like to expect more from a committee that’s spent millions of dollars and tons of time.''

He added that Congress “needed to get to the bottom of this'' but the investigation has gone on longer than the Watergate inquiry that led to Richard Nixon's resignation.

Clinton is set to testify before the committee on Oct. 22. Republicans have faced criticism that the committee, tasked with investigating the 2012 attack on the U.S. embassy in Libya, has become a vehicle meant to damage Clinton’s presidential campaign.

In Tuesday's Democratic debate in Las Vegas, Clinton referred to the House investigation, calling it “basically an arm of the Republican National Committee.''

“House Republicans aren’t even shy anymore about admitting that the Benghazi Committee is a partisan farce,'' Clinton spokesman Brian Fallon said in a statement.

“After failing to produce any new information on the tragic 2012 attacks at Benghazi despite a 17-month investigation, John Boehner has reportedly urged the committee to shift its focus to Hillary Clinton’s emails in an ongoing effort to try to hurt her politically. Hillary Clinton will still attend next week’s hearing, but at this point, Trey Gowdy’s inquiry has zero credibility left,'' Fallon said.

Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif. (Paul J. Richards, AFP/Getty Images)

Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer of California told POLITICO that Hillary Clinton's strong performance in the first Democratic presidential debate should be a warning to Joe Biden not to challenge her for the nomination.

"I just don't think there's a rationale for his campaign," she told POLITICO California. "I think he should endorse Hillary … and go out that way."

Boxer had previously urged Biden to base his decision on his own instincts.

The vice president has been mulling a potential run for weeks even as he's publicly acknowledged he may not have the “emotional energy” to follow through with it after the May death of his son Beau to brain cancer. He's been polling close to 20% of the vote in some surveys as Clinton has struggled amid controversy over her use of a private email server as secretary of State.

In the Tuesday debate in Las Vegas, Clinton was forceful in presenting her policy proposals and repeatedly declared that she takes “a back seat to no one'' on her progressive values. One of the night’s highlights was when Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, currently her chief rival, drew loud cheers for saying “the American people are sick and tired of hearing about your damned emails.''

The image of “how strong she is,'' said Boxer, makes a Biden candidacy less viable. “I just don't see it.''

Former senator Russ Feingold, left, and Sen. Ron Johnson. (AP)

Former Democratic senator Russ Feingold outpaced Republican Sen. Ron Johnson in fundraising during the third quarter, hauling in $1 million more than the incumbent, although Johnson has more cash on hand.

Feingold took in $2.4 million and had $3.4 million in the bank as of Sept. 30, his campaign said. Johnson raised $1.4 million and had $3.5 million in cash on hand.

Feingold's campaign sought to spotlight his grass-roots support, noting that 20,000 Wisconsinites from all 72 counties contributed during the quarter.

“Tens of thousands of Wisconsinites have given their support to Russ Feingold’s grassroots campaign because they know Russ is ready to fight for working families and the middle class,” campaign manager Tom Russell said in a statement.

Johnson's campaign noted that a majority of his take came from within the state, a not-so-veiled jab at the fact that Feingold previously raised more out of state than in state.

"Ron Johnson continues to earn the support of Wisconsinites because he is a citizen legislator who tells it like it is and works hard for our state every day," spokesman Brian Reisinger said. "We’re confident we will defeat professional politician Senator Feingold and his hypocritical campaign of broken promises."

The campaigns only revealed top-line numbers ahead of a filing deadline Thursday night. The filings with the Federal Election Commission will include detailed listings of expenses and donors who gave more than $250, including where they live.

The money race is a critical piece of what promises to be one of the most closely watched Senate contests in the nation. Feingold, who lost his Senate seat to Johnson in 2010, has been crushing Johnson in polls. The most recent Marquette University Law School poll in September had Feingold with 50 % and Johnson with 36%.