President Biden and the Democratic National Committee raised more than $72 million for his reelection in the second quarter of this year, a total that could ease some concerns among Democrats about the 80-year-old president’s campaign.
The Biden campaign and the DNC said the total was raised since April 25, when Mr. Biden announced his reelection run, and the end of June. The president’s team also announced that he has $77 million cash on hand.
“We’ve seen incredible enthusiasm for President Biden and Vice President [Kamala] Harris’ agenda — including their commitment to restoring democracy, fighting for more freedoms and growing the economy by growing the middle class,” said Biden campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez. “While Republicans are burning through resources in a divisive primary focused on who can take the most extreme MAGA positions, we are significantly outraising every single one of them – because our team’s strength is our grassroots supporters.”
But long-shot Democratic primary opponent Robert F. Kennedy Jr. also raised enough to ensure he won’t be ignored.
Mr. Kennedy’s campaign raised nearly $6.4 million for the quarter and had $4.5 million in the bank as of June 30. A pro-Kennedy super PAC, meanwhile, said it has raised more than $10 million.
Former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis are dominating the fight for campaign cash in the Republican presidential contest, according to federal filings made public Saturday.
While some Republican candidates struggled, like former Vice President Mike Pence, others reported significant hauls that help ensure the GOP’s 2024 primary will be crowded for the foreseeable future.
In 2019, Mr. Trump and the Republican National Committee raised a combined $105 million in the second quarter — about $80,000 per day more than Mr. Biden took in this year when the president was benefiting from higher campaign finance donation limits due to inflation.
Mr. Trump’s team recently confirmed that his joint fundraising operation — which splits money between his campaign and the Save America PAC — received $35 million in the second quarter. His campaign paid a little more than $153,000 for legal fees.
Overall, Mr. Trump’s campaign reported more than $22.5 million in the bank as of June 30. The average donation to the former president’s campaign now stands at $34, evidence, the campaign said, of his grassroots backing.
Although Mr. Biden’s total was more than double Mr. Trump’s, the former president and other Republicans in the race are not jointly raising money with the RNC and therefore face lower federal contribution limits for top donors.
Mr. DeSantis raised more than $20 million for the first six weeks he was in the race. While a massive sum, the Florida governor also burned through nearly $8 million over the same period, leaving his campaign with $12.2 million at the end of June.
Mr. DeSantis’ report also shows a significant reliance on high-dollar donors who won’t be able to give any more money to his campaign.
Despite the potential warning signs, Mr. DeSantis’ allied super PAC, which is legally barred from coordinating with the campaign, said it raised a stunning $130 million since the committee launched in March. More than half of that came from a state-level political committee once controlled by Mr. DeSantis.
The GOP fundraising numbers carry additional significance because they are tied directly to the party’s first presidential debate next month.
Beyond a 1% polling threshold, the RNC has announced that candidates must have a minimum of 40,000 unique donors with at least 200 unique donors per state or territory, in 20 states and territories.
Former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley, Sen. Tim Scott, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy announced in recent days they had reached the 40,000-donor threshold. Mr. Pence has yet to make such an announcement.
Ms. Haley’s campaign raised $7.3 million in the second quarter and ended June with $9.3 million in the bank. That’s as the main pro-Haley super PAC claimed $17 million cash on hand.
Mr. Scott raised nearly $6 million since announcing his campaign in May and finished the quarter with more than $21 million on hand, thanks to a big transfer from his Senate account.
And Mr. Ramaswamy, a 37-year-old entrepreneur, raised more than $7.7 million in the quarter, including lending his campaign $5 million from his own personal fortune. He finished the quarter with more than $9 million on hand.
Mr. Christie, in the race for just 25 days of the second quarter, raised $1.65 million through his campaign and reported nearly $1.6 million in the bank as of June 30.
Mr. Pence raised less than $1.2 million and finished the quarter with nearly $1.1 million in the bank, according to his federal filing.
He still may ultimately hit the 40,000-donor threshold to qualify for the opening debate, but the extraordinary possibility remains that the former vice president might find himself excluded from the Aug. 23 prime-time affair.
Mr. Biden has faced persistent concerns from within his party about voter enthusiasm for the oldest president in U.S. history, with polls showing most Democrats want someone else to run. Some prominent Democrats said the fundraising numbers will ease those worries at least somewhat.
“They’re spending very little money. They’re holding this money for next year when they’re actually going to need it,” former Obama 2012 campaign manager Jim Messina said on MSNBC. “It’s a very slimmed down and very smartly run operation. And the other number that really strikes out is that Biden outraised all the Republicans combined … so there’s a whole bunch of Democrats who woke up … to these numbers feeling pretty good about where Joe Biden’s campaign is six months before the Iowa caucus.”
The Biden campaign said the total came from nearly 400,000 donors, and 97% of donations were under $200 and more than 30% of donors had not given to Mr. Biden in 2020.
Mr. Biden’s 2020 campaign raised more than $1 billion in defeating Mr. Trump.
• This article is based in part on wire service reports.
• Dave Boyer can be reached at dboyer@washingtontimes.com.
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