President Biden and the Democratic Party have kicked off the year with a substantial fundraising advantage over former President Donald Trump and the Republican National Committee (RNC), according to campaign finance reports filed with the Federal Election Commission.
Biden’s campaign reported a robust financial position, entering February with $130 million in cash across affiliated committees. The Biden for President Committee and the Democratic National Committee contribute $80 million to this total, as disclosed in their recent filings.
Additional fundraising entities, such as the Biden Victory Fund and Biden Action Fund, which report quarterly, have not released their January numbers. In contrast, Trump’s political apparatus continued its trend of spending more than it raised in the initial month of the year.
The Trump campaign, the RNC, and supporting political action committees had a combined $65 million cash on hand at the beginning of February.
The Trump campaign concluded January with over $30 million in its coffers, having raised $8.84 million and spent $11.44 million. The spending included significant amounts on rallies and advertising, totaling almost $6.4 million, as Trump faced challenges in the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary.
The financial challenges for Trump’s team are exacerbated by substantial legal bills. In January alone, Save America PAC, responsible for funding Trump’s legal defenses, spent over $2.9 million on legal fees.
In 2023, political action committees expended over $49.6 million on legal expenses related to Trump’s 91 felony counts across four cases and multiple civil suits. Trump and the Trump Organization were recently ordered to pay fines totaling $345 million in a New York civil trial, adding to the financial strain.
FEC regulations are unclear on whether Trump can use campaign funds to cover the fines, as the decision depends on whether legal expenses are deemed “personal use.”
The RNC, facing potential leadership changes, struggled to significantly improve its fundraising, ending January with $8.7 million cash on hand, slightly up from $8 million at the start of the year. Meanwhile, former U.N.
Ambassador Nikki Haley, remaining committed to the race against Trump, raised $11.5 million in January and had just under $13 million in cash on hand at the beginning of February.
Haley’s refusal to drop out after the New Hampshire primary proved beneficial, with her best fundraising day on January 24, where she raised $1.2 million.
