Which Campaign Raised More Money

Monday 04th November 2024 05:50 PM

Topline

Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign has given Democrats a substantive fundraising lead, with last-minute federal filings released ahead of Election Day suggesting her campaign is maintaining a massive lead over former President Donald Trump in the final days of the race, based on the bigger donors cutting checks to each candidates’ campaigns.

Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at a rally on October 30 in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

Getty Images

Key Facts

The Biden—now Harris—campaign committee raised $997.2 million and Trump’s campaign committee raised $388 million in total between Jan. 2023 and Oct. 16, 2024, the most recent date for which Federal Election Commission filings are available, ending with $118 million and $36.2 million in cash on hand, respectively.

While the campaigns won’t report their full finances again until after Election Day, candidates are still required to report donations of $1,000 or above to the FEC within 48 hours—which are largely breaking for Harris, whose campaign raised $19.5 million from bigger donors between Oct. 17 and Nov. 1, as compared with only $4.5 million for Trump.

The Harris campaign raised $97.2 million in the first half of October alone, while the Trump campaign raised only $16.2 millionafter Harris shook up what was previously a more evenly matched cash race (Biden and Trump had raised $284.1 million and $217.2 million in total as of the end of June, respectively).

The Harris Victory Fund—which raises money for both Harris’ campaign and Democratic groups—raised $1.2 billion this election cycle, according to a FEC filing released on Oct. 24.

Trumps National Committee JFC, which raises money for Trump’s campaign and the Republican National Committee, took in only $375.3 million during this election cycle, while the ex-president’s Trump 47 Committee, a different joint fundraising committee that collects funds from bigger donors, raised $327.5 million.

While Harris had already garnered a fundraising lead over Trump, her donations shot up in September: NBC News first reported that Harris and affiliated committees had passed the $1 billion mark since she entered the race based on her September fundraising, which included $47 million the campaign reported raising in the 24 hours after Harris’ debate against Trump on Sept. 10—her largest one-day haul since entering the race—and lucrative fundraisers in New York City and San Francisco last month that reportedly took in between $27 million and $28 million apiece.

Many top donors also bankroll independent political groups like super PACs that aren’t beholden to the FEC’s $6,600-per-person limit for direct campaign donations, which is where Trump has more of a cash advantage.

FEC filings through Nov. 4 show super PACs have spent approximately $668.9 million supporting Harris since the beginning of July, while PACs have spent approximately $194.6 million supporting Trump during that same period.

FEC filings suggest Trump’s biggest super PACs are also taking in more than Harris’ top funds, however: The top 10 super PACs supporting Trump, as listed by the FEC, have collectively raised approximately $569.2 million since the start of the 2023 election cycle (as of Oct. 16), versus $535.5 million raised by the top 10 PACs supporting Harris.

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Surprising Fact

Harris’ billion-dollar haul likely marks the fastest that a presidential candidate has hit the ten-figure mark, The New York Times reports, noting that while Biden and Trump both raised more than $1 billion with their national parties in 2020, it was done over a much longer period of time. Anonymous sources cited by the Times said Harris raised the billion dollars in less than 80 days. Harris and her combined affiliated groups took in $1 billion during the quarter between July and October alone, which The Times reports also sets a record for the most profitable fundraising quarter ever. The Harris campaign didn’t publicly report how much it took in in September before federal filings were released in October, with the New York Times reporting it didn’t want to “brag” about its big donations and make voters complacent.

How Do Harris’ Fundraising Surges Compare To Trump’s?

Harris’ fundraising surge after she first announced her campaign surpassed the Trump campaign’s biggest donation bumps. The Trump campaign reported raising $52.8 million in the 24 hours after he was convicted on 34 felony charges in Manhattan in May, which led to the WinRed platform for small GOP donations temporarily crashing from the traffic. That was soon surpassed by the $81 million Harris raised in the first 24 hours of her campaign.

How Much Are The Parties Raising?

Democrats are also outraising Republicans at the party level, with FEC filings through Oct. 16 showing the Democratic National Committee has raised $538.8 million this election cycle, while the Republican National Committee has raised $390.2 million. Democrats escalated their lead over Republicans in September, taking in $98.7 million to Republicans’ $37.8 million. The GOP still had more cash on hand as of Oct. 16, however, with $47.8 million versus Democrats’ $30 million cash pile.

How Much Are Harris And Trump Spending?

The Biden—now Harris—campaign has historically spent its cash earlier than Trump, reporting through June that it’s spent $189.7 million, versus $92.1 million by the Trump campaign. That trend has remained the case now that Harris has entered the race, with the Harris campaign spending $165.9 million in the first part of October to Trump’s $99.7 million. The Biden and Harris campaigns have now spent $880.2 million in total this election cycle, versus $354.9 million by Trump. The Times reports the Trump campaign’s low spending may be by design, as filings show the campaign appears to have passed off many traditional campaign expenses—like payroll and venues for Trump’s campaign rallies—to other groups affiliated with the campaign and RNC.

Who Are Billionaires Giving To?

Billionaires have brought out their checkbooks for both candidates. Trump’s biggest donor is billionaire heir Timothy Mellon, who’s given an eye-popping $150 million to support the ex-president. Tesla CEO Elon Musk also gave nearly $120 million to the pro-Trump America PAC that’s reportedly handling most of the Trump campaign’s ground game, making up nearly all of the money the PAC took in last quarter. Trump has nearly 50 other billionaire supporters, including Linda McMahon, wife of wrestling mogul Vince McMahon; energy executive Kelcy Warren; ABC Supply founder Diane Hendricks; oil billionaire Timothy Dunn and well-known conservative donors Richard and Elizabeth Uihlein. After Biden attracted billionaires like Michael Bloomberg and LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman, Harris has already got the backing of at least 76 wealthy benefactors herself, including Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings, former Meta COO Sheryl Sandberg and philanthropist Melinda French Gates. More than 100 venture capitalists signed a letter on July 31 backing Harris’ candidacy and pledging to vote for her, which included such billionaires as entrepreneur Mark Cuban, investor Vinod Khosla and Lowercase Capital founder Chris Sacca.

Tangent

In addition to helping his campaign, Trump’s donors have also helped to finance his personal legal bills through his leadership PAC Save America, which has been used to pay his legal fees as cases against him have piled up. Trump’s campaign initially skimmed money from small-money donors for his legal fund, siphoning 10% of every dollar raised through his website for Save America. That ended when Trump joined forces with the RNC in March, but the ex-president is now soliciting help from bigger donors who give to his Trump 47 Joint Fundraising Committee. Donations to that committee first go to the Trump campaign—with a maximum contribution of $6,600 to his campaign and recount efforts—and up to $5,000 then goes to Save America. It’s only after that maximum has been reached that any money left over will go to the RNC and state parties.

Key Background

Harris entered the presidential race on July 21, as Biden announced he was leaving the race and endorsed the vice president minutes later. She quickly posted huge fundraising numbers when she entered the race on, with her campaign reporting $81 million in donations in the first 24 hours after launching, and announcing Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her vice presidential nominee has also fueled fundraising, with the campaign reporting it raised $36 million in the 24 hours after the running mate was announced. Biden’s campaign committee was renamed for Harris when he dropped out and endorsed her, and though Trump has challenged that with the FEC, his challenge isn’t expected to impact the election. Her candidacy reignited the presidential race as Biden faced growing questions about his mental fitness and polling showed Trump pulling ahead, with the VP’s enormous fundraising haul reflecting a broader enthusiasm about Harris on the left that’s also included an explosion of social media memes and thousands mobilizing for her campaign. Harris’ fundraising hauls come as Biden had long maintained a fundraising lead over Trump throughout the campaign. That narrowed more in recent months as Republicans have ended their primary and coalesced around the ex-president, Trump first outraising Biden in April as he joined forces with the RNC and as his criminal trial was underway.