The president and his party ended March with $192 million cash on hand, the most ever amassed for a Democrat at this point in the calendar, according to a statement by Biden’s campaign. That’s more than double $93.1 million that Trump and the Republican Party said they had at the end of last month.

Biden had his biggest total from small-dollar donors to date, breaking records set in each of the previous four months. The campaign doubled the size of its mailing list and saw twice as much interaction from those receiving its emails and text messages.

Donors with deep pockets also chipped in, including the $26 million the campaign raised at an event last month in New York City featuring Biden and former Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama. 

Biden has raised more than $422 million since launching his reelection bid last April. As an incumbent with only nominal opposition in the primaries, he’s been able to stockpile money for the general election. Meanwhile, Trump battled through an expensive primary season, fending off challengers including Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and former Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley.

Read More: John Paulson’s Palm Beach Event Shows Trump Shift on Donors

In March, 704,000 donors made 864,000 contributions, with Biden’s biggest daily total the $10 million raised after his State of the Union speech. A contest to attend the fundraiser in New York City brought in $9.5 million from grassroots contributors.

“The money we are raising is historic, and it’s going to the critical work of building a winning operation,” campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez said in a statement, pointing to the campaign’s offices around the country, growing staff in battleground states and its paid media program.

Biden is hoping to capitalize on Trump’s legal challenges, which include four criminal indictments that have eaten into some of his war chest. 

In a fundraising message Saturday, Biden’s campaign touted his small-donor haul — a hallmark of Trump’s fundraising in the past — and said his opponent was in Florida “collecting checks from a couple of billionaires who are looking for a tax cut.”

Trump, who only began fundraising with the Republican National Committee in mid-March, brought in $65.6 million, but is poised to raise more. An event in Palm Beach hosted by billionaire John Paulson on Saturday is expected to generate $43 million for Trump from contributors writing six-figure checks. Until he secured the nomination and began raising money for the RNC and state parties, Trump could accept just $3,300 from individuals for his campaign. He can now take in $814,600 per donor.

(Updates with White House fundraising message in penultimate paragraph.)

More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com

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Published: 08 Apr 2024, 02:06 AM IST