President Joe Biden outraised his top Republican opponents, including former President Donald Trump, in the latest presidential fundraising period, his campaign announced this week.
Biden's campaign pulled in $72 million during the second quarter of 2023, which spans from April 1 to June 30, as presidential candidates gear up for what could be the most expensive election in history. Both Democratic and Republican candidates are seeking to raise as much money as possible to spend on advertisements and in travel to critical early-voting states to boost their chances of winning early contests in states such as Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina. The first contest, the Iowa Caucus, remains six months away.
The president's reelection campaign highlighted that the $72 million raised came mostly from small donors. His campaign wrote that 97 percent of all donations were under $200, while the donations came from more than 394,000 individuals across each state. The average contribution was $39.
While Biden, who is not facing a substantial primary challenge, received nearly universal support from Democrats, fundraising on the Republican side remained much more divided.
Trump, who served as president from 2017 to 2021 and is viewed as the frontrunner in the 2024 race based on recent polls, led the Republican pack in terms of fundraising.
His campaign raised $35 million during the second quarter, nearly double the $18.8 million he raised during the first three months of 2023, according to a July 5 Associated Press report.
Notably, his campaign raised $4 million in the day after he was indicted by a Manhattan grand jury for allegedly falsifying business records in relation to a hush money payment allegedly made to adult film star Stormy Daniels during his 2016 presidential campaign. The former president plead not guilty and has maintained his innocence in the case.
Meanwhile, the average campaign contribution to Trump was $34, according to the AP.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who launched his campaign in May and is seen as the Republican with the greatest chance of beating Trump, raised $20 million, the AP reported July 6.
Former United Nations ambassador and South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley's campaign confirmed to Newsweek on Saturday that she raised $7.3 million during the second quarter, and has raised a total of $15.6 million since announcing that she is running for president in February.
Meanwhile, South Carolina Senator Tim Scott raised $6.1 million since announcing his campaign in May, according to a statement forwarded to Newsweek on Saturday by his campaign. Former Vice President Mike Pence raised only $1.2 million during the second quarter, according to The New York Times. Businessman Vivek Ramaswamy raised roughly $7.7 million during that time frame, NBC News reported.
Newsweek also reached out to the Biden, Trump, DeSantis and Pence campaigns for comment via email.
Pulling strong fundraising numbers, even more than six months prior to the first contest, is important for Republican candidates not only because it helps get their message out to primary voters, but because fundraising is a factor in whether they will appear on the debate stage.
Ahead of the first GOP debate in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, next month, Republican candidates will be required to have received donations from 40,000 donors, as well as receive at least 1 percent in at least two polls, to attend the debate. This means that Trump, DeSantis, Haley, Scott and Ramaswamy have all qualified.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Andrew Stanton is a Newsweek weekend reporter based in Maine. His role is reporting on U.S. politics and social issues. ... Read more
