President Biden’s re-election campaign ended January with nearly $56 million, extending his cash advantage over former President Donald J. Trump, whose campaign had about $30 million at the end of the month.
That’s a jump for Mr. Biden, who ended 2023 with $46 million in his campaign coffers, and a downward trend for Mr. Trump’s campaign, which had $33 million at the end of the year.
Mr. Biden appears to have gained an advantage in part because the Democratic Party apparatus and its fundraising power quickly united behind him in what is expected to be the most expensive presidential election ever. Even as Mr. Trump seeks to bring the Republican Party fully on board with his reappointment, he faces significant questions about the political and financial impact of his numerous legal troubles.
The apparent disparity in campaign funds laid out in filings Tuesday with the Federal Election Commission doesn’t tell the whole story about how the president and the man he beat in 2020 are raising and spending money as they prepare for a likely election The second leg is heading towards November.
For one thing, both Mr. Trump and Mr. Biden raise money through joint fundraising committees that don’t have to file reports until April. These committees often transfer funds to campaigns to pay salaries and purchase advertising time. Without these numbers, the candidates’ overall financial picture is not entirely clear.
More broadly, Tuesday’s FEC filings suggest differences in circumstances.
Mr. Biden, the incumbent, is already raising money with the Democratic National Committee, a party giant that can build a field operation for his reelection bid. On Tuesday, his team reported that committees had raised a total of $42 million in January to support his re-election efforts, with a total of $130 million available at the end of January.
The DNC alone reported holdings of $24 million at the end of January.
Mr. Trump, on the other hand, is still fending off a primary opponent, Nikki Haley. Until he wins the nomination, he cannot co-raise with the Republican National Committee. (The RNC reported Tuesday that it had $8.7 million in inventory at the end of January.)
And perhaps more importantly, committees that support Mr. Trump spend millions each month on legal fees.
There are four criminal cases and civil cases pending against Mr. Trump, which 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 skyrocket as he prepares for possible trials this year.
Ms. Haley, who has pledged to continue her long-term nomination bid at least through Super Tuesday on March 5, raised significant funds in January despite losing nominating contests in Iowa and New Hampshire.
But for the first time since entering the race, her campaign reported spending more than it brought in — taking in $11.5 million and spending $13.1 million in January. (Two of the committees supporting them did not file reports Tuesday.)
Her campaign had $13 million in cash on hand at the end of January, down slightly from $14.6 million at the end of December.
Mr Biden’s success in January could ease some concerns among his supporters that he is not mobilizing enough financial support.
At the end of 2023, the committees supporting Mr. Biden had collectively raised $97.1 million and had a total inventory of $117 million. This was not the overwhelming advantage that some in his party had expected, given Mr. Trump’s disunity and the fact that the former president had devoted resources to primary campaigns and his legal costs.
On Tuesday, Mr. Biden’s campaign manager, Julie Chávez Rodríguez, described his fundraising in January as an “undeniable feat to start the election year.”
She added: “As the Biden-Harris team continues to expand its fundraising machine, Republicans are divided – either they are spending money to fight Donald Trump or they are spending money to support Donald Trump’s extreme and losing agenda. “
The Trump campaign had $30.5 million at the end of January, but also recorded debts of about $1.1 million, offset by $490,000 in money owed to the campaign. The campaign raised $8.8 million and spent $11.4 million in January.
Mr. Trump has raised money for his campaign primarily through the Trump Save America Joint Fund-Raising Committee, which did not file on Tuesday. The joint fundraising committee raised $75.2 million and spent $77.3 million in the second half of 2023, leaving $3.6 million on hand for the year.
The January report for one of Mr. Trump’s committees – the PAC Save America leadership committee, which he has used to pay his legal fees – reported $6.3 million in inventory at the end of January. The group spent nearly $3 million on legal fees in January and also owes more than $1.8 million to lawyers representing Mr. Trump in his various criminal and civil cases, the filings show.
A spokesman for Mr. Trump, Steven Cheung, responded to a request for comment by sending a link to a Fox News article reporting that Mr. Trump was expected to raise more than $6 million at a fundraiser in South Carolina on Tuesday US dollars would collect night. (Mr. Biden has big-ticket fundraisers planned in California this week.)
Save America reported $5,008,508.87 in revenue in January – $5 million of which was a transfer from MAGA Inc., a super PAC that supports Mr. Trump. As the New York Times reported last month, transfers of roughly that size occur monthly, part of a huge return of money from the super PAC to the committee.
MAGA Inc. ended January with $19.7 million in inventory, compared to $23.3 million at the end of December.
Of the $7.4 million that MAGA Inc. raised in January, $5 million came from Timothy Mellon, a bank heir and businessman who has now donated a total of $15 million to MAGA Inc.
Mr. Mellon has also drawn attention from Democrats wary of third-party challenges to Mr. Biden by donating $20 million more to a PAC supporting Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the political scion and Democrat to Independent presidential candidate.
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2024-02-21 05:17:45
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