Former President Donald J. Trump's presidential campaign committee is trying to close the funding gap with President Biden, with $45 million left on hand as of the end of March, according to a federal filing Saturday. This was shown in the submitted documents.
But Mr. Trump's campaign spending has decreased significantly since the beginning of the year, and it is inching closer to victory. The new filing shows it spent just $3.7 million in March and $11.4 million in January, far less than the $29.2 million Biden's campaign spent in March. In other words, Trump's campaign is conserving resources as it looks to build up a campaign coffers for the general election.
Mr. Biden's campaign had $85.5 million in cash on hand at the end of March, a significant increase from the previous month, according to monthly filings with the Federal Election Commission. Mr. Biden ended February with $71 million in campaign funds, while Mr. Trump ended the month. less than half that.
Biden has also begun to close the gap in approval ratings with Trump, as Trump and the Republican Party pursue the Democratic Party's financial advantage. Since late February, the president has reduced the deficit from 5 percentage points to an effectively tied 1 percentage point, according to a recent New York Times/Siena College poll.
Rivals used flashy fundraising campaigns last month to raise tens of millions of dollars for their respective campaigns. But Trump's gains from the April 6 event in Palm Beach, Florida, will be reflected in future filings. His campaign reported that the Republican National Committee and the Republican National Committee raised more than $50.5 million from a dinner held at billionaire John Paulson's home.
The total was nearly double the $26 million Biden campaign announced it had raised on March 28 at New York's Radio City Music Hall. The star-studded event was headlined by two former presidents, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama. Those funds were included in Biden's March fundraising numbers.
Mr. Biden and Mr. Trump raise money primarily through joint fundraising agreements with their respective parties, an arrangement that legally allows them to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars from individual donors. The department is moving into the election campaign.
The joint fundraising committees of both candidates filed reports with the Federal Election Commission this week, revealing initial details of major 2024 donors to both candidates and total fundraising totals.
But FEC reports on presidential campaigns, filed monthly during election years, provide a variety of insights into candidate activities and how committees supporting candidates spend their funds.
For example, election commissions are often used to pay for television appearances because federal law guarantees political campaigns guaranteed minimum rates for broadcast advertising. Biden's campaign spent $45.2 million on media acquisitions and production in the first three months of 2024, more than half of its total spending of $74.1 million, according to filings.
The Biden campaign spent $6.9 million on personnel and related expenses, and another $6.9 million on “text message operations.” His campaign spending soared in March after two months of relative stability.
By contrast, Trump's campaign spending has slowed sharply since the beginning of the year, when he was still fending off his opponent in the Republican primary.
Since Jan. 1, Trump's campaign has spent $23 million, but only $3.7 million of that was in March. His campaign paid media outlets $6 million this year, all of which was paid before Super Tuesday.
One of Mr. Trump's committees, a leadership PAC called Save America, reported on Saturday that Mr. Trump had been using the money to pay for his legal fees and had about $4.1 million in cash at the end of March. The amount was about the same as when the court opened. End of February.
The group spent $5 million in March, including $3.7 million in bills for lawyers representing him. Trump's campaign itself paid about $473,000 in legal fees.
MAGA, the Trump-supporting super PAC, reported raising $14.4 million in March, including $5 million from former Trump Cabinet member Linda McMahon and aerospace and It includes a $4.2 million donation from real estate tycoon Robert T. Bigelow. The group also transferred $5 million to Save America, part of a large amount of money returned to the committee from super PACs over the past year.
National polls consistently suggest that a rematch between Trump and Biden could hinge on multiple states or even a single state, with independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s candidacy is becoming more likely.
Attention is also focused on how the liberal scion funds his campaign and what he spends on things like ballot access and security.
The choice of Nicole Shanahan, a wealthy Silicon Valley lawyer and investor, as his running mate already appears to be a boon for his campaign. Of the $5.4 million Mr. Kennedy raised in March, $2 million came from Mr. Shanahan. Shanahan was married to Google co-founder Sergey Brin until last year.
