Trump’s $100M war chest a key advantage

GOP fundraising seen as outpacing struggling Dems

WASHINGTON • As Democrats get organized for the 2020 election, one major obstacle is becoming starkly clear: President Donald Trump’s US$100-million head start.

Trump, who began raising money for his re-election campaign shortly after winning the presidency, disclosed Monday that his campaign and affiliated committees have raised at least US$106 million — a sum that exceeds what any of his predecessors amassed so early in their presidencies.

More than half of the money the committees raised in the most recent quarter came from individual supporters, who are giving in amounts of $200 or less. These supporters are also turning up at Trump rallies, where their information is being pulled into the Republican National Committee’s expanding voter database.

The party is connecting with one million voters per day and forging an army of volunteers — with a test run of this machine underway in the form of the November midterm election.

The expansive effort comes as Democrats’ hopes for the presidency are just coming into focus. The 2020 race is expected to begin almost immediately after the midterm election, and Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey and former vice-president Joe Biden are among the high-profile Democrats who have recently raised millions of dollars and travelled the country to support midterm candidates — moves considered signs of presidential aspirations. But the Trump machine has been churning for nearly two years.

“If the Trump campaign and RNC keep doing what they’re doing, they’re going to amass a huge fundraising and grassroots network. By the time the conventions come around, they’re going to be rolling down the campaign trail with a well-oiled, fully weaponized battle station,” said GOP strategist Scott Jennings, who advised Mitt Romney’s 2012 campaign.

Together with the RNC, Trump’s campaign committee and joint fundraising committees have raised more than US$337 million, and stockpiled at least US$88 million of it in cash.

The Democratic National Committee, struggling to rebuild after 2016, effectively has no cash on hand and remains in debt.