Karissa WaddickUSA TODAY
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WASHINGTON – National polls show President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump neck-and-neck in the 2024 presidential race. But, with seven months to go until voters cast their ballots, Biden is dominating his Republican opponent on another major benchmark – fundraising.
In March, Biden and Democrats reported having more than twice as much cash on hand than Trump and Republicans.
Money isn’t everything – and doesn’t necessarily determine the success of a campaign. However, Biden’s cash advantage could allow the Democrat to run a more aggressive campaign, especially in the handful of sunbelt and midwestern swing states where small margins of voters could determine the fate of the race.
For more insight on the contest, here’s a deeper look at what we know about Biden and Trump’s fundraising hauls so far.
Biden’s fundraising haul
The Biden campaign raised an astounding $90 million in March, bolstered by a major donation drive following the president’s State of the Union address and a celebrity-packed fundraiser in New York City headlined by former Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton.
The monthly fundraising total includes contributions to the Democratic National Committee, as well as joint fundraising committees.
March was also the campaign’s best grassroots fundraising month since launching, it said. So far, 1.6 million people have donated to the Democratic incumbent's re-election bid.
In total, Democrats reported having $192 million on hand, more than double the $93.1 million Republicans reported.
Biden’s campaign has used the money to hire staff, open offices, fund a multi-day swing across major battleground states and launch a multimillion-dollar advertising campaign.
Trump’s war chest
Trump's campaign and the Republican National Committee said they raised $65.6 million in March. Since Trump clinched the delegates needed for the GOP nomination last month, the RNC and his campaign have begun sharing resources.
The former president is expected to draw in another $43 million during a Palm Beach fundraiser on Saturday hosted by billionaire hedge fund manager John Paulson. A portion of the money raised at the event will go to a group that has spent tens of millions of dollars on Trump’s mounting legal fees.
In addition to the four criminal cases against him, Trump has also been found liable in two civil cases related to fraud and sexual abuse. Judgments in the latter two require the former real estate mogul to pay hundreds of millions of dollars in penalties.
The former president got a bond in his New York civil fraud case to shield his assets as he appeals a $454 million judgment for fraudulently over-valuing his real estate empire.
And Trump posted a $92 million bond to block columnist E. Jean Carroll fromcollecting on her $83.3 million judgment as Trump appeals her defamation victory.
The super PAC Save America is helping pay these legal bills. It is classified as a “leadership PAC” and can only accept $5,000 per election cycle from each donor, but has few restrictions on how it spends money.
Trump’s campaign has said that it will not reach Biden’s fundraising totals this election and blamed the discrepancy on Biden’s “billionaire” supporters.
Who are Biden and Trump’s top donors?
Although both Biden and Trump tout their small-dollar donations, large contributions make up a majority of the money they’ve both raised, according to Open Secrets Data. Here’s a look at some of their top donors, based on data from early March,
Biden’s top donors
- $8.4 million from Future Forward USA Action, a hybrid super PAC advocating for the repeal of tax cuts for the rich, among other issues.
- $3 million from Greylock Partners, a venture capital firm that supports tech startups
- $2.5 million from Sequoia Capital, a venture capital firm that supports tech companies
- $2.5 million from Euclidean Capital, a hedge fund founded by billionaire James Simons
- $2.24 from Democracy PAC II, a super PAC targeting Texas voters, backed by Democratic megadonor George Soros
Trump’s top donors
- $16.5 million from Timothy Mellon, heir to the Mellon Bank fortune
- $5.25 million from McMahon Ventures, an LLC owned by Linda McMahon, the co-founder of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) alongside her husband Vince McMahon
- $5 million from Hendricks Holding Co., founded by conservative multibillionaire Diane Hendricks
- $5 million from Crownquest Operating, a Texas-based drilling company founded by GOP megadonor Tim Dunn
- $5 million from Robert Bigelow, a real estate investor who contributed heavily to Ron DeSantis bid for the Republican presidential nomination
Contributing: Reuters; Francesca Chambers, Joey Garrison, Suhail Bhat USA TODAY
