With just months to go until the first presidential primary contests, freshly-released fundraising figures for July through September are shedding light on where 2024 White House hopefuls stand.
The numbers for the third quarter show some candidates significantly stepping up their fundraising, building off of a summer of campaign events and two GOP debates, while others are spending in high numbers and juggling debt.
On the Democratic side, President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign announced a hefty fundraising haul, bringing in more than $71 million over the last three months. It’s a figure that includes Biden’s principal campaign committee, joint fundraising committees and the Democratic National Committee – which can raise on Biden’s behalf.
The figure is around the $72 million the Democratic president’s fundraising entities raised over the first 10 weeks of his reelection campaign in the second quarter.
Over the weekend, Biden’s campaign touted the $91 million the Democrats had on hand as “the highest total amassed by any Democratic candidate in history at this point in the cycle.”
Looking solely at Biden’s principal campaign committee, he recorded bringing in about $24.8 million from July through September, up from $19.9 million in April through June. Perhaps most notably, the president’s reelection committee went from spending just $1.1 million in the second quarter to $12.7 million in the third.
Just ahead of the first GOP presidential primary debate in August, Biden’s fundraising entities launched a $25 million ad buy highlighting his agenda in swing states, including Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.
Biden’s Democratic challenger Marianne Williamson brought in slightly more than $820,000 over the last three months. Media host Cenk Uygur also announced he is challenging Biden on the Democratic side last week, but he did so after the end of the fundraising quarter.
Another 2024 hopeful, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who recently dropped his Democratic label to run as an independent, recorded raising $8.7 million in the third quarter. The super PAC backing his candidacy said it brought in $11 million dollars in the hours after he changed his party affiliation, which was after the third quarter fundraising deadline. Another independent candidate Cornel West raised $250,000 in the third quarter.
Meanwhile, in the crowded GOP field, former President Donald Trump – the party’s current frontrunner, according to polls – led the Republican pack in funds raised from July through September.
Trump’s principal campaign committee brought in $24.5 million, with some of those funds transferred from his joint fundraising committee. Earlier this month, the former president’s campaign said it raked in more than $45.5 million in the third quarter when including all of Trump’s fundraising entities.
Trump’s third quarter haul was up from the $35 million and $17.7 million his entire fundraising apparatus and principal campaign committee recorded bringing in in the second quarter.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ campaign and its fundraising entities said it brought in $15 million dollars from July through September.
DeSantis’ principal campaign committee recorded a total of $11.2 million in funds brought in over the last three months – a significant drop from the $20.1 million the Florida governor raised in the previous quarter. The third quarter has seen DeSantis look to shift staff and otherwise shake up his campaign as he hopes to make up ground in the thus far Trump-dominated race.
The Florida governor’s quarterly filing shows he spent slightly more than $11 million in the quarter – nearly as much as he brought in over the last three months. DeSantis’ campaign, according to the filing, also has more than a million in debt, with money owed for services like sending mail and consulting.
Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations and South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie saw solid increases in their fundraising figures in the third quarter – a period that saw both candidates receive attention following the GOP’s primary debates.
Haley, who saw her standing in some polls rise following her debate performances, recorded bringing in $8.2 million over the last three months, up from the $5.3 million in the second quarter. Her campaign said it brought in $11 million for the quarter when including her other fundraising entities.
Christie’s principal campaign committee brought in $3.8 million, up from $1.7 in the second quarter.
Vivek Ramaswamy – who has funded some of his own campaign – recorded spending significantly more than he brought in. The entrepreneur and first-time candidate brought in $7.4 million while spending more than $12.2 million in the quarter.
South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott raised less from July through September than in the previous quarter, bringing in $4.6 million over the last three months compared to $5.9 in the second quarter. He also spent big in July, August and September, recording $12.4 million leaving his funding chest. His filings also show his committee is about $927,000 in debt.
Former Vice President Mike Pence also finds his campaign about $620,000 in debt. His fundraising total for the quarter – about $3.4 million – is low on the list of GOP candidates who have qualified for the two debates but is nearly double the $1.2 million he raised in the second quarter.
North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, who also qualified for the first two GOP debates and funded some of his own campaign, recorded bringing in $3.4 million in the third quarter and spending $4.7 million.