Vice President Kamala Harris has lapped former President Donald Trump in fundraising after pulling in a record $1.6 billion across various campaign committees compared to $700 million for Trump.
In total, Harris has raised $928 million for her official campaign, $364 million for the Democratic National Committee and another $307 million for a joint fundraising committee after accounting for transfers made to her official campaign and other party committees, according to FEC filings running through Sept. 30. That total, which includes funds raised when President Joe Biden was the party’s candidate, is a record sum for a presidential candidate.
On the other hand, Trump has raised $375 million for his campaign, $281 million for the Republican National Committee and $145 million for two joint fundraising committees, excluding transfers over the same period.
Harris routed Trump in fundraising for their official campaigns in September by pulling in $222 million compared to the Republican’s $63 million. Those numbers are both down from the same period in 2020, when Biden raised $281 million and Trump raised $81 million.
Trump’s fundraising is significantly lower than it was when he ran for reelection in 2020. That is largely due to his collapse among small donors, who once powered his political operation. Instead, Trump has relied on big-dollar donors and outside groups funded by his fellow billionaires, including Elon Musk, the wealthiest man in the world.
Harris’ record fundraising haul allowed her to crush Trump in television advertising in September while funding an expansive get-out-the-vote operation. The Harris campaign has also dramatically outspent Trump in digital advertising and dominated cable and radio advertising, according to the Wesleyan Media Project, which tracks campaign advertising spending.
The September spending binge by the Harris camp left the two campaigns with a roughly equal amount of cash on hand for the final five weeks of the race. Harris had $50 million more than Trump across their various committees as of Oct. 1.
Trump has always trailed his Democratic opponent in his three runs for the presidency. In 2016, Hillary Clinton outraised Trump by $200 million in their respective official campaign committees. Biden similarly outpaced Trump by $270 million. In both cases, the Democratic fundraising advantage mattered little as Trump eked out an electoral college win in 2016 and nearly repeated that feat in 2020.
