How much have Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump received from small donors?

Bernie Sanders received 70% of funds from small donors and has no debt, while Donald Trump has by far the most debt

Mr Sanders' support from small donors keeps him afloat, while Donald Trump is the most in debt (Getty)

Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders may not be leading the polls to win the Iowa caucus tonight, but he is in one of the best financial positions of all the candidates and has the highest support from small donors, new numbers show. Meanwhile Donald Trump, who is the top Republican in the polls for Monday night, has by far the most debt of any candidate.

According to end of year filings from the presidential candidates, as shown by Politico, Mr Sanders raised 70% of funds from small-time donors.

Mr Sanders is also the second richest candidate in terms of the amount of cash his campaign has on hand - $28 million - as of the end of December 2015.

The Democrat has no debt, according to numbers from the Federal Election Commission (FEC), and he has raised a total of $75 million for the fourth quarter cycle, only beaten to the top by the $115 million raised by fellow Democrat Hillary Clinton.

Hillary Clinton has previously been accused of “fuzzy math” on the total amount of donations from Wall Street. Just 15% of her support in the fourth quarter came from small donations.

Small donors can add up and make a big impact - they have continued to fuel Ben Carson’s campaign, providing 55% of his total funds. Not all Republicans have had the same success, however. Jeb Bush is lowest on the candidate list with just 6% of his funds coming from the small donors.

In terms of how much cash on hand each candidate has, Ms Clinton is the richest at $38 million, as of 31 December 2015.

And when it comes to debt, Republican Donald Trump is the most severely in the red.

The man who is the closest competitor to Ms Clinton in the Iowa caucus tonight has just $7 million cash on hand.

He has previously claimed that he has self-funded his campaign, and has indeed spent $10.8 million of his own money. Nevertheless he is reportedly $12.6 million in debt. Like Ms Clinton, just 15% of his donations come from small donors.

Airfare is a common expenditure for the candidates, but other costs take their toll. The Independent reported on Monday that Mr Trump spent $326,699.85 during the final quarter of 2015 with one just company to buy red “Make America Great Again” hats.

Other candidates are struggling to make ends meet. Democrat Martin O’Malley, who has 14% of campaign money from small donations, has taken out a $500,000 loan to keep his campaign afloat, according to a document from the FEC.

Republican Ted Cruz, who is hoping to win back support in Iowa Monday night, raised $47 million for his campaign, including a $1 million loan from two banks, one of which employs his wife as a senior director. He admitted to a “paperwork error” when he failed to publicly disclose that loan to the FEC.