Based on recent campaign filings, President Joe Biden and the Democratic National Committee started the election year with a significant fundraising advantage over Donald Trump and the Republican National Committee, CBS News reported.
According to filings submitted to the Federal Election Commission by the Biden campaign last week, the campaign and its multiple affiliated committees started February with $130 million cash on hand, with the DNC and the Biden for President Committee alone accounting for $80 million of that.
Meanwhile, the Republican National Committee, the Trump campaign, and its affiliated committees ended January with only $65 million cash on hand, half that of Biden and the DNC.
The Trump campaign and its affiliated committees during the month of January continued the trend of spending more than they raised, as the campaign continues to rely on donor funds to pay Trump’s mounting legal bills.
The Trump campaign raised $8.84 million in January but spent $11.44 million, leaving it with just over $30 million in its war chest.
Trump’s Save America PAC, which is footing the bill for most of Trump’s legal fees, spent more than $2.9 million on legal expenses in January alone.
Last year, Save America PAC paid more than $49.6 million to Trump’s lawyers, legal consultants, and other legal expenses. With all four criminal cases scheduled to go to trial this year, the PAC is expected to expend even more donor money on Trump’s legal fees in 2024.
The RNC, which will elect new leadership during its March 8 spring meeting in Houston, started January with only $8 million cash on hand and finished the month with a mere $8.7 million in the bank.
Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley, who has yet to win a primary contest, raised $11.5 million in January, starting February with nearly $13 million cash on hand. Her biggest single-day fundraising came the day after she lost the New Hampshire primary when Haley raked in $1.2 million.
