U.S.
President
Joe
Biden
departs
the
White
House
in
Washington,
U.S.,
for
a
campaign
fundraiser
in
California,
May
9,
2024.
Craig
Hudson
|
Reuters
President
Joe
Biden’s
reelection
effort
and
the
Democratic
National
Committee
raised
a
combined
$85
million
in
May,
according
to
exclusive
data
provided
to
CNBC
by
the
Biden
campaign.
The
sum
marks
the
president’s
second-best
month
this
cycle
for
fundraising,
behind
only
March.
Still,
it
trailed
significantly
behind
the
$141
million
that
former
President
Donald
Trump’s
political
operation
and
the
Republican
National
Committee
claim
to
have
raised
the
same
month.
The
May
fundraising
left
the
Biden
campaign
and
allied
groups
with
$212
million
in
cash
on
hand
at
the
end
of
the
month,
the
data
shows,
up
from
$192
million
at
the
end
of
April.
A
majority
of
the
May
fundraising,
the
campaign
says,
came
from
grassroots
donors.
“Our
strong
and
consistent
fundraising
program
grew
by
millions
of
people
in
May,
a
clear
sign
of
strong
and
growing
enthusiasm
for
the
President
and
Vice
President
every
single
month,”
Biden
campaign
manager
Julie
Chavez
Rodriguez
said
in
a
statement.
“The
money
we
continue
to
raise
matters,
and
it’s
helping
the
campaign
build
out
an
operation
that
invests
in
reaching
and
winning
the
voters
who
will
decide
this
election.”
The
Biden
team
has
been
using
the
funds
to
build
out
a
massive
ground-game
across
the
country,
announcing
earlier
Thursday
that
it
had
just
hired
its
1,000th
staffer.
The
Trump
campaign,
by
contrast,
has
been
slow
to
staff
up
in
key
states,
causing
concern
among
some
Republican
strategists.
The
May
figures
underscore
how
the
presidential
fundraising
dynamic
has
shifted
in
recent
weeks
in
favor
of
Trump,
who
has
now
significantly
outraised
his
opponent
in
each
of
the
past
two
months.
In
April,
Trump’s
allied
groups
and
the
RNC
raised
$76
million
to
Biden
and
the
DNC’s
$51
million.
Much
of
that
momentum
in
May
was
fueled
by
small
dollar
fundraising
around
Trump’s
trial
and
conviction
late
in
the
month
on
34
counts
of
falsifying
business
records
to
conceal
a
hush
money
payment.
The
campaign
said
it
raised
nearly
$53
million,
or
more
than
a
third
of
their
overall
total,
in
the
24
hours
after
the
verdict
was
announced.
Biden
campaign
officials
highlight
how
in
contrast,
Biden
did
not
have
any
major
fundraisers
or
events
during
the
month.
May
marked
the
second-best
month
for
grassroots
fundraising
for
Biden’s
reelection
effort,
and
the
best
month
so
far
for
recurring
donations.
One
figure
the
Trump
campaign
has
not
reported
this
month—and
will
not
be
legally
required
to
report
until
July—is
its
cash
on
hand.
As
of
April,
the
Trump
allied
campaign’s
overall
war
chest
was
about
$60
million
smaller
than
Biden’s—$88
million
versus
$146
million.
It’s
not
year
clear
whether
Trump’s
latest
fundraising
push
has
helped
him
build
out
his
cash
pile.
After
May’s
quiet
month
for
Biden,
both
operations
are
on
track
to
put
up
impressive
numbers
for
June:
Biden’s
star-studded
Hollywood
fundraiser
last
week
raised
more
than
$30
million,
while
Trump’s
West-Coast
fundraising
swing
earlier
in
the
month
pulled
in
roughly
$27.5
million.
