A coalition made up of President Joe Biden's reelection campaign, the Democratic National Committee, the president's joint fundraising committees and his allied super PAC began the year with far more cash in the bank than any of his potential Republican opponents, new Federal Election Commission filings show.
The $140 million total represents a major advantage for the Democratic incumbent, even as Biden's campaign staff struggles to reassemble the president's winning 2020 voter coalition.
"While Donald Trump lights money on fire paying the tab on his various … expenses, Team Biden Harris, powered by grassroots donors, is hard at work talking to the voters who will decide this election and building the campaign infrastructure to win in November," Biden campaign spokesman TJ Ducklo said in a statement Wednesday.
Here's a breakdown of the cash that each Biden allied committee had to start the year:
- Biden for President: $46 million
- Biden Victory Fund: $37 million
- Democratic National Committee: $21 million
- Biden Action Fund: $10 million
- Democratic Grassroots Victory Fund: $1.9 million
- Future Forward (pro-Biden super PAC): $24 million
Erasing Biden's early lead in the money race will pose a huge challenge to the eventual Republican nominee.
GOP front-runner Donald Trump has proven he can raise enormous sums of money from small-dollar donors. But there are several factors this year that complicate matters for Trump's fundraising effort.
The first is the fact that the Republican National Committee has yet to throw its weight behind a Republican primary candidate, preferring to remain neutral while the party's primary is still actively underway.
Even if the RNC were to back Trump, it's not clear how much help the committee could actually provide. According to a new filing, the RNC began the year with just $8 million in cash, or less than half of what the DNC reported.
Trump also has several specific expenses draining his coffers, which Biden does not. Chief among them is how much Trump's campaign spends on legal bills, as the president prepares for what could be four criminal trials in the coming year. In 2023, Trump's campaign and allied committees spent $47 million on lawyers and legal fees, newly released filings reveal.
Trump will also have to spend money to continue waging a primary campaign against his sole remaining rival, former United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley. Despite losing to Trump in both Iowa and New Hampshire last month, Haley has vowed to remain in the race.
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