Before Joe Biden announced his withdrawal from the presidential race on Sunday, his struggling campaign had $96 million in money initially of July. The money raised in June had already been used up 93 percent in a spending spree last month.
Biden’s spending included a $50 million promoting campaign before his disastrous June 27 debate performance that divided the Democratic Party and sparked the relentless pressure that led to his exit. His burn rate far exceeded that of his rival, former President Donald Trump, whose campaign spent just 46 percent of the cash it raised in June and entered the ultimate 127 days of the 2024 campaign with $128 million within the bank.
Biden’s campaign spent $243 million through the top of June, Federal Election Commission records show, and didn’t let up in July. Even as dozens of Democratic lawmakers urged him to drop out of the race, his campaign continued to spend money. The Biden team bought $35 million value of ad time in July, in comparison with lower than $70,000 for Trump, in response to AdImpact.
The spending plans got here at a time when Biden’s campaign was effectively facing a fundraising freeze and lots of Democratic donors were hesitant to provide more cash to a candidate whose mental fitness and talent to serve one other four-year term had been questioned.
Biden, 81, has been in quarantine since last week due to Covid-19 and planned to return to the campaign trail next week before dropping out. He and his surrogates have not less than nine fundraisers planned in the approaching weeks, and it stays to be seen what’s going to come of them.
Biden’s financial misfortunes were a surprising turnaround from events just a few months ago, when his campaign was raising significantly more cash than Trump’s and was on the verge of spending way over his Republican rival’s. Even as Trump’s fundraising surged, his campaign stuck to a lean operation, eschewing the expensive field offices and large promoting campaigns that were central to the Democrats’ strategy.
After Biden’s resignation, the campaign’s remaining funds change into a crucial consideration.
Where does the cash go now?
Only Vice President Kamala Harris, who endorsed Biden for the nomination on Sunday, can inherit the remaining funds under federal campaign finance law. Should Democrats nominate one other candidate for the ballot at an open nominating convention, the campaign could donate its remaining funds to either the Democratic National Committee or an excellent PAC, but the brand new candidate would have to begin raising money from scratch.
Overall, Biden and the Democratic Party entered July with $240 million in money available, in comparison with $285 million for Trump, who has seen one other money boost since his conviction in late May for making hush money payments to an adult entertainer.
Following a failed assassination attempt at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, figures from the technology and financial industries have pledged their support, including enterprise capitalists Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz.
Billionaire Elon Musk has pledged to speculate $45 million a month in a political motion committee aimed toward mobilizing votes for the Republican candidate, but the quantity of the donations, if he makes them, won’t be disclosed until October.
Trump’s foremost super PAC, Make America Great Again Inc., raised $22.5 million, with aerospace entrepreneur Robert Bigelow and Linda McMahon, Trump’s head of the Small Business Administration, each contributing $5 million. The group launched in July with $114 million in money.
Future Forward PAC, Biden’s foremost super PAC, raised $33 million in June and ended the month with $122 million. George Soros donated $5 million the day after the talk through Democracy PAC, which he uses for big donations. LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman donated $3 million and Eric Schmidt, the previous CEO of Google, donated $1.6 million.
MAGA Inc. spent $19 million on promoting in July, in comparison with $13 million for Biden-aligned Future Forward.
