Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaign reported raising $361 million in August, her first full month as the Democrats’ nominee, far surpassing the $130 million reported by Mr. Trump in the same month.
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By Theodore Schleifer
Sept. 6, 2024, 5:07 a.m. ET
Vice President Kamala Harris in August raised almost triple the sum collected by former President Donald J. Trump, opening up a $110 million cash lead over her Republican rival once Ms. Harris took over the top of the Democratic ticket.
The Harris campaign said on Thursday that it raised $361 million in August, far surpassing the $130 million that Mr. Trump reeled in that month. Those sums include money raised by allied party committees.
The $361 million raised by the Harris campaign was the Democrats’ best month of the 2024 campaign. August was the first full month with Ms. Harris as the Democratic nominee after President Biden ended his re-election bid in late July. August was also when the Democrats held their nominating convention — a four-day marketing celebration that typically serves as a fund-raising bonanza. Ms. Harris’s team said it raised some $82 million during the convention.
The Harris campaign had a large advantage in cash on hand as of Aug. 30 as well: The Trump team reported about $295 million across all of its entities, while Ms. Harris’s aides reported $404 million on hand.
Mr. Biden also had a wide lead in cash on hand over Mr. Trump much of the campaign, but Mr. Trump closed the gap shortly after securing the Republican nomination this spring. The Democrats, catapulted by enthusiasm after the top-of-the-ticket switch, were able to rebuild the lead.
Campaigns typically spend down their cash as Election Day nears — pouring remaining cash into final ads or get-out-the-vote efforts.
What’s more, Mr. Trump’s fund-raising has shown signs of struggle: Campaigns typically raise successively more in each month before an election, but his August number ($130 million) was less than what was raised in July ($139 million). That August number was also much lower than his August 2020 haul ($210 million).
Mr. Trump has not held many campaign fund-raising events as of late, mostly delegating the reception-and-dinner circuit to his running mate, Senator JD Vance of Ohio. Mr. Trump is scheduled next week, after his much-awaited debate with Ms. Harris, to headline three fund-raisers, according to copies of invitations viewed by The New York Times. One is planned in Salt Lake City, one in Los Angeles, and another in Silicon Valley hosted by Thomas M. Siebel, a billionaire entrepreneur.
Ms. Harris’s August fund-raising haul is almost identical to the $364 million raised in August 2020 by Mr. Biden’s campaign.
The precise amounts raised and held by the campaigns and the party committees won’t be official until campaign-finance reports are publicly filed in the middle of September.
Theodore Schleifer writes about campaign finance and the influence of billionaires in American politics. More about Theodore Schleifer
See more on: Kamala Harris, Donald Trump, 2024 Elections: News, Polls and Analysis, U.S. Politics, Democratic Party, Republican Party
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Source: nytimes.com
