President Biden’s re-election campaign cost $71 million At the end of February, more than double the $33.5 million in former President Donald J. Trump’s campaign account, while Democrats continued to expand their fundraising lead over Republicans in the presidential campaign.
The cash disparity was detailed in documents filed with the Federal Election Commission on Wednesday, as campaigns and some presidential committees faced a February deadline to file fundraising and spending reports.
Mr. Trump boosted his campaign’s account in February, increasing its cash balance by more than $3 million since January, when he ended the month with about $30 million. But Mr. Biden’s campaign, which ended with $56 million in January, brought in another $15 million in February.
While Mr. Trump is ahead of Mr. Biden in most national polls, Mr. Biden and the Democratic Party have a growing cash advantage — a gap that has become one of the most pressing issues for Mr. Trump, who is busy courting some of the biggest Republican Party financiers at private dinners at Mar-a-Lago, his club and residence in Palm Beach, Florida.
Still, the financial picture remains incomplete: Both Mr. Trump and Mr. Biden are raising money through joint fundraising committees that won’t file reports until mid-April. These committees transfer funds to campaigns that are better able to pay salaries and purchase advertising time at the lower rates guaranteed to candidates.
Over the weekend, Mr. Biden’s team reported raising a total of $53 million In February, all committees supported his re-election bid with a total of $155 million, up from $130 million at the end of January. April reports will provide more detailed information about how and from whom this money was collected.
Mr. Biden, as the incumbent, has been raising money for months with the Democratic National Committee, a massive operation that is building the field work needed for the general election.
Mr. Biden is also backed by more than $1 billion that outside groups have pledged to support his bid — money that does not match party accounts filed Wednesday.
Mr. Trump’s campaign told Fox News on Wednesday that it had raised a total of $20.3 million with a joint fundraising committee, with $42 million available to the two groups.
Part of Mr. Biden’s advantages is that of a traditional incumbent. Mr. Trump was only named the presumptive Republican nominee in February and immediately began gutting the Republican National Committee and filling it with loyalists. The committee itself reported raising $10.7 million in February and ended the month with $11.3 million.
Mr. Trump’s legal battles have also put a strain on his overall campaign funds. He faces four criminal and civil cases that are proving costly. Last year, the committees supporting him spent at least $50 million on legal fees, filings show, and those costs are likely to rise as he prepares for possible court proceedings this year.
A super PAC supporting Mr. Trump, Make America Great Again Inc., reported raising $12.8 million in February, with $25.5 million on hand, up from $19.7 million -dollar at the end of January.
The report filed Wednesday for one of Mr. Trump’s committees – a leadership PAC called Save America, which he has used to pay his legal fees – reported $4 million in inventory at the end of February, compared with more than $6 million in January.
This change appears to be due to an increase in Mr. Trump’s legal costs. The group spent nearly $5.6 million in February on bills to the legal teams defending him.
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2024-03-21 03:48:31
www.nytimes.com
