CNN
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Kamala Harris entered September — and the final weeks of the presidential campaign — with significantly more available campaign cash than Donald Trump, a new federal filing shows, after setting a grassroots fundraising record in her first full month as the Democratic presidential nominee.
Fundraising by national Democratic groups focused on the battle for Congress also surged — more than double the amount raised by its Republican counterpart in August as party factions try to turn the U.S. House blue. The House GOP campaign arm, however, reported a six-figure donation from billionaire Elon Musk last month.
With Democrats riding a wave of donor enthusiasm, recent filings with the Federal Election Commission showed some major outside groups also ramped up their activity, while a leading pro-Trump super PAC unleashed a large amount of independent spending to close the gap on Republicans. .
Harris completely erased the financial edge Trump had briefly gained over the summer when the former president outspent President Joe Biden in two of the final three months before Biden dropped out of the race in late July. The vice president received nearly $190 million directly into his campaign in August — more than four times the $44.5 million the Trump campaign said flowed into its main campaign account that month.
The Harris campaign dramatically outspent the Trump campaign in August, burning through about $174 million. It plowed most of the advertising spend — $135 million — into the race to introduce the Democrats’ newly announced nominee to voters on a shortened schedule. Some $6.4 million went to payroll costs and $4.5 million to text messaging.
By comparison, Trump’s campaign spent just $61 million last month, with the lion’s share — more than $47 million — going toward media buys.
Despite the spending, Harris’ main campaign account entered September with $235 million in cash, far exceeding the $135 million left in Trump’s coffers, the latest FEC filings show.
Applications filed late Friday provide only a snapshot of candidates’ financial strength.
The Trump and Harris campaigns have aligned with a series of committees filing disclosure statements on a separate schedule. Harris’ vast network reported raising a total of $361 million in August, nearly triple the $130 million Trump’s campaign said it brought in.
Harris’ fundraising dominance helped give Democrats significant gains in ad bookings this fall, including in key battleground states. The vice president and his allies have a heavy social media presence over the former president. Democrats have spent $137 million on digital platforms since Harris became the party’s standard-bearer in late July — more than triple the spending of Republicans, a CNN analysis of data compiled by ad tracking firm AdImpact shows.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee — the party in the House races — significantly outraised its GOP opponent, the National Republican Party Campaign Committee, from $22.3 million to $9.7 million, campaign reports showed Friday.
The DCCC entered September with more cash, $87.3 million to the NRCC’s $70.8 million, which could be important in the highly competitive battle for the House, where Republicans are maintaining a narrow majority.
One notable donor helping House Republicans stem the tide of Democratic money: Billionaire Elon Musk gave $289,100 to the House GOP campaign committee in August, making it the largest federal donation Musk has made so far this cycle.
The tech mogul — the world’s richest man — endorsed Trump in July. In another sign of his growing political influence, a super PAC Musk has recently helped ramp up its activity in the presidential race has spent more than $40 million since mid-August. That includes more than $22 million for canvassing efforts on Trump’s behalf, helping fill an important role. The Trump campaign, as CNN previously reported, has chosen to outsource most of its field sports operations to outside firms.
Party groups focused on Senate races raised comparable amounts last month.
The national Republican Senatorial Caucus brought in $19.1 million and its Democratic counterpart $19.2 million. Each spent more than it raised, with the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee spending $31.6 million and the NRSC $26.5 million.
Democrats control the chamber, but face unfavorable terrain this year as they retain many seats in states that previously supported Trump.
Harris’ fundraising prowess has put pressure on a network of outside groups backing the former president to help close the funding gap.
MAGA Inc., a leading pro-Trump super PAC, spent more than $88 million in independent expenditures on behalf of the former president’s campaign in August alone, according to its monthly filing, funded by a blitz on television ads. This is MAGA Inc. That’s more than spent in any month this year, and more than double the amount spent in July.
The super PAC received a total of $25 million last month from several wealthy backers, including $10 million from Wisconsin Rubin billionaire Diane Hendricks and $5 million from billionaire financier Paul Singer. It ended August with $59.4 million in cash.
In the Democratic Party, FF PAC, the leading pro-Harris super PAC, announced last month that it had raised nearly $37 million, including $30 million from Facebook co-founder and billionaire investor Dustin Moskowitz. Cycle. The super PAC spent more than $77 million in August, including nearly $62 million in independent expenditures to benefit the vice president’s campaign.
