The amount of money that presidential campaigns raised in the second quarter of 2023 had to be disclosed by Saturday in order to provide an early indication of their war chests and the level of public enthusiasm they have been able to generate.
Serious bids for the White House are expensive, and raking in millions of dollars is viewed as vital to competing. Beyond long-term considerations, GOP candidates will also have to attract at least 40,000 unique contributors by the first primary debate in August to make the stage, meaning the Saturday deadline also provided a chance to see who may secure a slot and who was at risk of missing out.
Candidate-aligned super PACs, which are political action committees that can raise and spend limitless sums of money in support of certain candidates as long as they aren’t directly coordinated with those campaigns, will have until the end of the month to declare their quarterly hauls.
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Fundraising Computation Between President vs Former President
President Joe Biden’s campaign revealed earlier this month that it, along with the Democratic National Committee and its joint fundraising committees, has raised $72 million since he launched his reelection effort in April.
The groups say they concluded the quarter with a massive $77 million on hand. At the Saturday deadline, Biden’s campaign disclosed that it had raised $19.9 million from April through June. The sum itself is not gigantic; in the second quarter of 2019, during his last campaign, Biden raised $22 million while running in a heated primary.
Nonetheless, his team is keeping their war chest well stocked by running a lean operation. They spent a measly $1.1 million throughout the three months, employing only four full-time personnel and giving out less than $1,500 on travel, hotels, and flights. Biden was sluggish to embark on 2024 campaign events after his announcement, holding his first—and so far his only—campaign rally roughly two months after he declared. Yet the president and his entourage have since made a huge effort to raise money.
In its filing, former President Donald Trump’s campaign reported receiving $15.3 million in donations during the second quarter. By the end of the second quarter, it had spent $9.1 million, with $2.3 million of that amount going to Campaign Inbox for “SMS Advertising” and “Digital Consultancy.” The money raised by Trump’s joint fundraising committee is divided between his official campaign and his leadership PAC, Save America, which helps to fund many of Trump’s legal expenses.
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Source: ABC News
