Fundraising, along with polling, is a key metric in determining a candidate’s strength and grassroots appeal
President Biden’s approval ratings may be low with the American public, but his re-election campaign’s fundraising efforts remain strong.
In the third quarter of 2023, from July to September, President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris combined raised more than $71 million for their 2024 re-election campaigns. The campaign announced this significant fundraising success.
They highlighted that as of the end of September, their campaign had about $91 million in their coffers. They described it as “the largest amount raised by any Democratic candidate at this point in the election cycle.”
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Moreover, the president’s re-election campaign emphasized that their fundraising in the past three months has exceeded any of the GOP’s 2024 campaigns. Additionally, they predict that their total cash giving will exceed the total funds held by GOP contenders.
Presidential candidates, as well as those running for Senate and House seats, are required to submit their third-quarter fundraising reports to the Federal Election Commission by the end of Sunday. However, several campaigns have already publicized their latest fundraising totals.
Former President Donald Trump, who is currently the leading contender for the Republican Presidential nomination and is embarking on his third consecutive bid for the White House, disclosed earlier this month that he raised $46 million over the past three months and had $38 million in cash on hand.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis reported raising $15 million, with $14 million in his campaign coffers, while former ambassador and former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley announced that she raised $11 million and had $12 million in cash on hand.
The President’s campaign highlighted that their fundraising over the past three months, which was similar to the $72 million they raised during the second quarter, reflects the enduring strong support and enthusiasm for the reelection campaign of the President and Vice President.
This funding was accumulated by the Biden-Harris reelection campaign, the Democratic National Committee (DNC), and state parties involved in a joint fundraising committee that was established when the President initiated his reelection campaign in late April.
The campaign also emphasized their strategic fundraising approach, allowing them to optimize available resources for President Biden and Vice President Harris’s reelection while managing their spending wisely.
One key factor contributing to Biden’s significant fundraising advantage over his Republican rivals is that individual donors can contribute larger sums to national party committees like the DNC than to individual presidential campaigns.
The Biden reelection campaign highlighted their growing grassroots support, pointing out that small-dollar donations increased from comprising 34% of their total fundraising in the second quarter to making up 49% of their overall revenue in the past three months.
They also emphasized that they attracted nearly a quarter of a million new donors who did not contribute to the 2020 Biden presidential campaign.
Biden-Harris 2024 campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez stated, “We are especially proud of our efforts to significantly expand our grassroots donor base, with over a hundred thousand Americans now committed to making recurring donations from now until Election Day. These numbers reflect one of our core goals early in this campaign: to raise the necessary resources for running an assertive campaign aiming to secure victory in November 2024.”
Fundraising, along with polling, serves as a crucial metric for evaluating a candidate’s strength and appeal among grassroots supporters. The funds raised are essential for building a candidate’s campaign infrastructure, expanding grassroots outreach, and supporting get-out-the-vote initiatives. Additionally, these funds are utilized to cover campaign-related expenses such as travel and advertising.