Biden outpaces Trump in May fundraising
Joe Biden, whose campaign had long struggled to raise money, zoomed past President Trump’s fundraising machine in
May for the first time, pulling in $80.8 million together with the Democratic National Committee, about 10% more than the $74 million Trump raised with the Republican Party.
It was a reversal of fortunes for the former vice president and a testament both to his growing support among small donors — more than half his donors in May were new to the campaign — and the advantages of his first full month of fundraising in concert with the DNC, in chunks of up to $620,000 per donor.
The $80.8 million that Biden raised was roughly onethird more than he raised in April, when Trump edged him slightly. The campaigns took in a total of nearly $155 million in May — about $5 million per day — despite a health and economic crisis that has put more than 40 million Americans out of work and sent unemployment claims soaring.
Tom Perez, chair of the Democratic National Committee, said the party was raising large sums both from small donors online and with traditional big contributors.
“Quite frankly, we’re hitting it in both ways,” he said in an interview.
Trump still maintains a sizable cashonhand advantage over Biden and the Democrats, and his campaign is well on pace to surpass more than $1 billion raised in total this summer, having already collected $817 million.
Biden’s fundraising surge coincides with a strengthening position in the polls, as he has opened up a lead not only in national surveys but in many of the key battleground states. In the past two months, Trump has been advertising on television in eight states, all of which he won in 2016. Biden’s campaign made its first television purchase of the general election Friday.
Trump’s campaign committee spent more than twice as much as Biden’s in May, $24.5 million compared to $11.7 million.
The campaigns disclosed their fundraising to election authorities Saturday evening just as Trump was headed to a rally in Tulsa, Okla., part of his effort to revive inperson campaign events. He also held a highdollar fundraiser at a private home in Dallas earlier this month.