The new campaign fundraising numbers are in, and they spell enthusiasm for the Biden-Harris campaign.
The incumbents’ campaign faces a lot of challenges, but they have also just raised more than any other Democratic candidate in history at this point in the quarter, and 40% of the donors are new this cycle. In fact, 1.6 million people have contributed to their campaign thus far.
The campaign raised $187 million in the first quarter of 2024.
Biden-Harris raised $90 million in March, while Trump raised $65 million.
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Biden-Harris has $192 million cash-on-hand, while Trump has $93 million on hand.
$422 million since April launch is “most ever for a Democratic Presidential candidate.”
About 40% of the donors this cycle are new from 2020. “We’ve seen a whole bunch of new donors appear since the race consolidated,” Rob Flaherty, Biden-Harris 2024 Deputy Campaign Manager said. “I think we’re getting money from a wide variety of folks who care about our democracy and care about the stakes of this election.”
What does this mean? It’s huge enthusiasm for President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, which tells a very different story than the beltway narratives driven by the lackluster polls.
This gives the Democrats $192 million in cash-on-hand, which they describe as “more than any Democratic candidate in history at this point in the cycle and more than double the war chest of Trump.”
The campaign drew a stark contrast between their grassroots fundraising and Republican opponent and ex-president Donald Trump, who “cozies up to billionaires tonight to raise his money.”
“It sure looks like Trump’s campaign is hiding behind a few billionaires at Mar-a-Lago and is struggling to attract the grassroots donor enthusiasm that powers winning campaigns,” said Rob Flaherty, Biden-Harris 2024 Deputy Campaign Manager. “Unlike Trump, we’ve got nothing to hide and everything to be proud of: our program is showing historic strength and sends a clear signal that our coalition is motivated and growing by the month.”
But billionaires aren’t going to just give up. Donald Trump is their tax cuts and less regulation. He’s more money and power for them. So, Donald Trump is expected to see a huge infusion of cash after a fundraiser in Palm Beach this Saturday that will be catering to billionaires, which has already raised $43 million according to CNN.
“Every single dime that you give to the Biden-Harris re-election campaign, we spend talking to voters,” Biden campaign finance chair Rufus Gifford said on MSNBC’s The Weekend with Symone Sanders.
While the wallets of billionaires will open to pave Trump’s way out of legal trouble and into power again, the real story in these fundraising numbers is the enthusiasm of The People. The enthusiasm of actual voters is with Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, it is with democracy, and it is with freedom.
But it’s going to be a fight.
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