Topline
Vice President Kamala Harris’ entrance into the presidential election has blown up her fundraising race with former President Donald Trump and given Democrats a commanding lead, as her joint fundraising committee reported taking in more than $633 million last quarter—dwarfing what Trump raised with two committees combined.
Vice President Kamala Harris rallies with supporters at East Carolina University on October 13 in … [+]
Getty ImagesKey Facts
The Harris Victory Fund—which raises money for both Harris’ campaign and Democratic groups—raised $633.2 million between July 1 and Sept. 30, according to a Federal Election Commission filing released Tuesday.
Trumps National Committee JFC, which raises money for Trump’s campaign and the Republican National Committee, took in only $194.5 million during that same period, while the ex-president’s Trump 47 Committee, a different joint fundraising committee that collects funds from bigger donors, raised $145.2 million.
The Biden—now Harris—campaign committee specifically raised $678.2 million and Trump’s campaign committee raised $309.2 million in total between January 2023 and Aug. 31, 2024, the most recent date for which Federal Election Commission filings are available, as those report on different dates than the joint fundraising committees.
Harris also ended August with far more cash on hand than Trump—with $235.5 million to Trump’s $134.6 million—further widening her cash lead after erasing a previous cash advantage the Trump campaign had at the end of June, before President Joe Biden dropped out of the race.
The Harris campaign raised $189.6 million in August alone, while the Trump campaign raised $44.5 million, after 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).
Harris’ fundraising reportedly continued to shoot up in September: In addition to Harris Victory Fund’s huge haul, which will go in part to her campaign, NBC News first reported Harris and affiliated committees have now raised more than $1 billion since she entered the race, citing anonymous sources, which includes $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.
The Harris campaign has not yet reported how much it raised in September in total—with the New York Times reporting it doesn’t want to “brag” about its big donations and make voters complacent—and has not commented on the $1 billion report, but its fundraising total is likely to far exceed the $160 million the Trump campaign reported taking in last month.
Many top donors also bankroll independent political groups like super PACs, which aren’t beholden to the FEC’s $6,600-per-person limit for direct campaign donations—which is where Trump still holds an advantage, at least for now.
FEC filings through Aug. 21 show super PACs have spent approximately $167 million supporting Harris since the beginning of July, while PACs have spent approximately $55.2 million supporting Trump during that same period.
FEC filings report the top 10 super PACs supporting Trump have collectively raised approximately $329.4 million since the beginning of the year versus $256.6 million raised by the top 10 PACs supporting Harris—though some PACs have only reported their fundraising totals through the end of last quarter on June 30, so pro-Harris PACs may have narrowed that gap by the time the next quarterly totals are released in October.
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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 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.
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.
What To Watch For
We won’t know for sure how the two candidates’ fundraising matches up as of September until Oct. 20. That’s when the campaigns will submit their FEC filings for how much they specifically raised this month.
How Much Are The Parties Raising?
Democrats are also outraising Republicans at the party level, with FEC filings through August showing the Democratic National Committee has raised $385.5 million this election cycle, while the Republican National Committee has raised $331.1 million. Democrats escalated their lead over Republicans in August, taking in $68.7 million to Republicans’ $40.4 million. The GOP still had more cash on hand going into September, however, with $79.3 million versus Democrats’ $50 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 $173.8 million last month to Trump’s $61.3 million. The Biden and Harris campaigns have now spent $444.5 million in total this election cycle, versus $177.6 million by Trump.
Who Are Billionaires Giving To?
Billionaires have broken out their checkbooks for both candidates. Trump’s biggest donor is billionaire heir Timothy Mellon, who’s given an eye-popping $115 million to support the ex-president, including a new $50 million donation to Trump’s Make America Great Again super PAC in July. Tesla CEO Elon Musk also gave $75 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.
Further Reading
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