Democrats are expressing increasing concern over the fact that former President Donald Trump has caught up to, and surpassed, President Joe Biden in fundraising.
For most of the 2024 campaign, Biden had a massive financial edge over Trump, an advantage Biden donors were hoping could decide the election. Such hopes have come to naught, however, as Trump has not only closed the fundraising gap but even surpassed Biden in fundraising.
In May, according to Federal Election Commission filings, Trump’s campaign committee raised twice the amount that Biden’s did — $75.4 million compared to $37.7 million. Trump now has a larger campaign chest than Biden, at $116.6 million compared to $91.6 million.
Hank Sheinkopf, a Democratic strategist speaking with Politico, expressed astonishment at the turnaround.
“What Democrats should worry about is that it’s even within distance — that the money is going on at Trump’s side at such a clip,” he said. “You would think a guy who’s convicted of crimes would be nowhere, but he’s everywhere financially. And that is a real problem for Democrats.”
“The challenger shouldn’t even be close on the money side, especially a guy who’s convicted of felonies,” Sheinkopf added. “How is this possible, is what the Democrats should be asking … That’s what they should be worried about.”
“There was the strategy of raising all this money on the front end so we could have this huge edge,” a Biden donor told the outlet. “The whole point of it was to come out with a sizable cash advantage and, you know, we’re now even and it’s June. … I have no other word for it other than ‘depression’ among Biden supporters.”
Biden campaign officials brushed off the concerns of some donors, arguing that their use of funds is more efficient than Trump, closing the gap.
“Our campaign, from the moment we’ve started, is more focused on what we’re doing with our resources, rather than trying to play a game of who’s raising what,” Biden deputy campaign manager Quentin Fulks told Politico in an interview. “That is where our investments are going, directly into field [operations].”
Not all Biden donors are despairing either. Alan Kessler, a Democratic Pennsylvania donor, argued that early fundraising is what counts, and Biden raised enough initially to likely decide the election.
“That early money counted because it allowed for Biden to build out all of these offices, which have been cranking along, and that’s not something Trump can catch up on,” he said. “Trump can’t get back February, March, April, and May, when the Biden campaign was getting boots on the ground.”
The Washington Examiner reached out to the Biden campaign for comment.
Meanwhile, the Trump campaign viewed the surge in funding for Trump as vindicating their impression of growing enthusiasm for the former president.
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“From fundraising, polling, crowds at public events or enthusiasm across the board with America’s voters, there is more and more evidence that the momentum of President Trump coming out of a historic primary election season is growing as we move to November,” Trump campaign spokesman Brian Hughes said in a statement to Politico. “The latest surge in fundraising and wiping out the campaign cash advantage in May reflects this.”
Trump and Biden are currently neck-and-neck in the polls, with a recent NPR/PBS News/Marist College national poll showing the two tied with 49% of the vote.
