Who are top donors to Biden, Trump, Kennedy?
While an average of national polls shows President Joe Biden trailing Donald Trump, he is outperforming the former president in one area: campaign fundraising.
Biden’s campaign maintained a significant fundraising lead over Trump in March, ending the month with $85.5 million in cash on hand, nearly double that of the former president.
New filings showed that Biden’s campaign spent over $29 million in March, about seven times more than the Trump campaign’s expenditures of $3.7 million. Most of Biden’s spending went toward ad campaigns in swing states, attempting to capitalize on the momentum following his State of the Union speech earlier in the month.
Meanwhile, the Biden campaign replenished that money and then some, raising $43.8 million, versus the Trump campaign’s $15.3 million.
Fundraising doesn’t necessarily translate into a lead in the race, as recent CNN polls have shown Trump leading Biden by six points. The impact of fundraising on the outcome of the race is not clear, as Hillary Clinton famously outspent Trump in 2016 and still lost the electoral college.
Besides that, the former president is entangled in criminal cases that have pushed up his legal bills, most of which are paid through Save America, a leadership PAC. USA TODAY reported earlier this month that the political committee spent $3.7 million on lawyers in March, bringing the total to $76 million. Meanwhile, Trump’s joint fundraising committee is spending millions at businesses owned by Trump, essentially funneling the money into Trump’s account as he desperately needs cash amid his legal troubles, as reported by USA TODAY.
Both Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s campaign and the super PAC backing him are struggling to raise funds. In March, his campaign committee collected $5.4 million, ending with only $6 million in cash on hand, while the super
PAC, American Values 2024, brought in under $1.3 million, ending with $17.6 million. The super PAC is currently paying at least three ballot access consultants to get Kennedy on the ballot before the November election.
In national surveys, Kennedy is polling at an average of 10%, and a recent NBC report suggests that he might be drawing more votes away from Trump than from Biden.
Outside groups are also pouring tens of millions of dollars into the campaigns. Timothy Mellon, heir to the Mellon Bank fortune, has donated more than $35 million to the presidential race and is the top donor to both Trump’s and Kennedy’s campaigns. Robert Bigelow, a major donor to Ron Desantis’s failed presidential bid, has shifted his support to Trump, donating $5 million to the Make America Great Again super PAC.
Biden’s top donor so far is Future Forward USA Action, a super PAC advocating for the repeal of tax cuts for the rich and protecting the Affordable Care Act. Additionally, several labor organizations have raised millions of dollars for Biden’s re-election bid, including the Laborers Union, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, the Plumbers Union, the National Education Association and a municipal workers union.
Donor data is as of April 16, 2024. Opensecrets combines contributions from companies and organizations. Since companies themselves aren’t allowed to donate to campaigns, they typically make donations through family members, owners and employees. The data includes money donated to the campaign and to single-candidate hybrid PACS or super PACS.
Timothy Mellon, heir to the Mellon Bank fortune, has donated more than $35 million to the presidential race and is the top donor to both Trump’s and Kennedy’s campaigns.