President Donald Trump's re-election campaign and the Republican National Committee (RNC) raised a combined $105 million over the past three months, the campaign announced on Tuesday.
The Trump campaign and its committees raised $54 million while the RNC raised $51 million, the president's campaign said in a statement.
"Our massive fundraising success is a testament to the overwhelming support for President Trump," Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale said. "No Democrat candidate can match this level of enthusiasm or President Trump's outstanding record of results."
RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said the committee’s "record-breaking fundraising has allowed us to identify troves of new supporters online and continue investing in our unprecedented field program."
"Our grassroots army is already hard at work–putting us in prime position to re-elect President Trump and Republicans across the country," she added.
As the Democratic Party begins what could be a highly-fractious presidential nominating contest, Trump benefits from the traditional advantages of incumbency, including near-universal name recognition, and his near complete control of the Republican Party.
His massive fundraising haul — and the $100 million war chest he and the RNC have in remaining cash — gives him a significant financial edge as nearly two dozen Democrats are scrambling for cash to compete in the party's presidential primaries. It also comes as Democratic presidential candidates are beginning to reveal their second-quarter fundraising hauls.
Candidates have until July 15 to report second-quarter fundraising totals, but South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg announced Monday that his presidential campaign raked in nearly $25 million in the second quarter of 2019. The eye-popping sum came from 294,000 donors and is more more than triple what Buttigieg's campaign brought in during the first quarter of the year. It is expected to be among the largest disclosed by any Democratic presidential hopefuls for the second quarter of the year.
Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who topped the field of candidates in first-quarter fundraising, is expected to announce his second-quarter fundraising numbers later Tuesday.
Trump, who powered his 2016 campaign by targeting small-dollar donors, particularly online, never stopped running for office. He formally launched his reelection effort just hours after he was inaugurated on January 20, 2017 — earlier than any incumbent has in prior years — and his team has been laying the groundwork across the country and driving donations from the president's avid base ever since. In contrast, former Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama had been in office for more than two years before they filed for re-election.
In an unprecedented move, the president's campaign and the RNC merged their field organizing and fundraising operations into one group named "Trump Victory" earlier this year. Politico previously reported the goal of the organization is to "create a single, seamless organization that moves quickly, saves resources, and — perhaps most crucially — minimizes staff overlap and the kind of infighting that marked the 2016 relationship between the Trump campaign and the party."
Politico detailed another benefit of the "reelection machine," writing: "With talk of a primary challenge to Trump simmering, the act of formally tying the president’s reelection campaign to the resource-rich national party will make it only harder for would-be Republican opponents to mount a bid."
Shares