Donors poured in a combined $4.7 billion to campaigns and related groups for President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and President-elect Donald Trump this election season, according to campaign finance reports released this week.
The reports only concerned funding from between Oct. 17 and Nov. 25, but when added to overall figures from earlier reports, The New York Times came up with the multi-billion figure.
The figures show that Democrats and allied super PACs, along with other groups, raised about $2.9 billion, compared to $1.8 billion raised by Republicans.
However, Trump's super PACs outraised the super PACS linked to Biden and Harris.
The Times analysis further showed that Trump’s campaign and the Republican National Committee raised $1.2 billion beginning in November 2022 through Election Day. MAGA Inc., Right for America, America PAC, Preserve America, and Turnout for America, his main super PACs, raised another $849 million.
The Biden-Harris campaign did not include a competitive primary race, giving it longer to collect money for the race against Trump. Further, Biden and the Democratic National Committee signed a joint fundraising agreement earlier than Trump signed his with the RNC, so the Democrats were able to accept larger checks.
The Democrats' fundraising also grew after Harris became the presidential candidate this summer when Biden dropped out.
But from the time when Biden first announced his reelection campaign through Election Day, the operation netted about $2 billion, with Future Forward and American Bridge, the two main super PACs, bringing in another $652 million.
Meanwhile, the figures did not include most of the cash that was raised by dark money groups that do not disclose donors.
The Harris and Trump super PACs were able to raise large sums from the groups' allied dark money organizations, which are political nonprofits that do not disclose their donors.
MAGA Inc. brought in about $78 million in the final weeks of the election, with $53 million coming from Securing American Greatness, its affiliated dark-money group.
Harris' Future Forward brought in $164 million, with $128 million coming from that group's dark money nonprofit, Future Forward USA Action.
Both the Harris and Trump campaigns ended up in debts showing outstanding bills that would be paid after the filing period ended. Trump's campaign as of Nov. 25 had $11.4 million in unpaid bills, but his committee itself was owed $4.7 million and had almost $10 million on hand.
Harris' campaign finished about $20 million behind, but as of Nov. 25, the campaign reported no outstanding debt and about $2 million on hand.
Future Forward, Harris' main super PAC, meanwhile, disclosed $47.3 million in debt, but an aide said the timing of invoices was related to that amount.
Meanwhile, both the RNC and DNC ended up with over $40 million in cash on hand but some of at funding may be used to pay its own bills, legally set aside for specific purposes, or transferred to state parties.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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