President Biden’s campaign on Friday announced a combined fundraising of more than $72 million from April to June along with the Democratic National Committee and a Joint Fundraising Committee, a figure far exceeding that of former President Donald J Trump and other Republican leaders have announced presidential candidates.
The campaign said it, along with the DNC and the committee, had a total of $77 million in cash on hand at the end of the reporting period. He did not disclose how that money was divided between the campaign and the committees.
“While Republicans are consuming resources in a divisive primary centered around who can take the most extreme MAGA positions, we are significantly outnumbering every one of them,” said Julie Chávez Rodríguez, Biden’s campaign manager.
While the fundraising total falls well short of the $105 million that Trump and his allies raised during the same period of his 2020 re-election campaign, it is likely to serve as a balm for Democrats who have been private gloomy for Mr. Trump. The decline in Biden’s approval ratings. The financial numbers show that whatever private doubts Democrats have about Biden’s re-election campaign, the party’s donor class wholeheartedly agrees.
« This is proof positive that this party, its people and the country believe in Joe Biden and the achievements of this administration, » said Henry R. Muñoz III, former chief financial officer of the Democratic National Committee. « This reiterates Joe Biden’s appeal to the workers and everyday heroes of this country. »
In the wake of President Barack Obama’s re-election campaign, he and the DNC raised a total of $86 million between April and June 2011.
Comparisons to Obama’s 2012 campaign fundraising efforts are inaccurate, however, because a 2014 Supreme Court decision and other legal changes allowed candidates and parties to form joint fundraising committees that can accept individual donations. of hundreds of thousands of dollars.
And in Trump’s re-election bid, he had a significant lead over Biden. Mr. Trump formally announced and began raising funds for the 2020 race the day it opened in 2017, while Mr. Biden, who it had $1.36 million at the end of March remained in his campaign account, he did not actively solicit money for his campaign until he formalized his run in April.
Mr. Biden began his 2024 campaign on April 25, nearly a month into the fundraising quarter. His first major fundraising event was in mid-May in New York, and he himself failed to raise significant funds during the heat of the federal debt ceiling extension negotiations in late May.
In June, Biden traveled to San Francisco and Chicago to meet with major donors before the fundraising period closed.
Mr. Biden was never a prolific fundraiser before becoming the party’s de facto presidential candidate in spring 2020. Three other Democratic candidates raised more money than he did during the third quarter of 2019, well before his resurgence as primary season explained.
But once Democrats united around Mr. Biden and against Mr. Trump as the pandemic gripped the country, Mr. Biden emerged as a magnet for donors large and small.
« Just like 2020 was a record-breaking year, I imagine 2024 will be a record-breaking year, » said Alex Lasry, a former Senate candidate and DNC member from Wisconsin, co-treasurer of the Democratic Governors Association.
Republicans vying to replace Biden won’t have the benefit of raising money through their national committee until one emerges as the party’s nominee. Mr. Biden and supportive Democrats also have the advantage of not having to spend a lot of money to get through what should be a turbulent primary campaign for Republicans.
Mr. Trump said his campaign and joint fundraising committee raised $35 million in the second quarter. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced that he has raised about $20 million. Nikki Haley, former South Carolina governor and United Nations ambassador, raised $4.3 million for her campaign and another $3 million for her affiliated committees. Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina said his campaign raised $6.1 million.
Other Republican presidential candidates, including former Vice President Mike Pence, former Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey and Vivek Ramaswamy, a businessman, have not released their second-quarter fundraising totals.
Full campaign finance reports from all federal candidates, which will include spending and an indication of how much of their money comes from small donors, are due Saturday from the Federal Election Commission.
Rebecca Davis O’Brien contributed report.
