Biden campaign fundraising wanes after robust June

Yucaipa, California — President Joe Biden’s election campaign outraised and outspent his challenger Donald Trump in June, according to disclosures at the weekend that show the president’s coffers initially swelling even after a disastrous debate performance.

The main campaign account for Biden, a Democrat, took in $64m in June and spent $59m, largely on campaign ads, ending the month with $95m in the bank, according to a filing submitted to the Federal Election Commission (FEC).

Republican nominee Trump’s main account reported raising $21m in June and spending about $10m, while having $128m in cash at the close of the month.

Biden, 81, raised more than $5m in the three days after his June 27 debate against Trump, 78, in which the president stammered in parts and failed to energetically challenge Trump’s attacks, which included numerous false claims.

But this month Biden has faced calls from some Democratic legislators to bow out of the race, and his fundraising has reportedly sagged so far in July.

Biden and Trump have been locked in a tight race in national polls, though Trump has led in several polls in battleground states that could determine the winner of the November 5 presidential election.

Since early July, 35 congressional Democrats have publicly called on Biden to end his re-election bid, with many citing his advanced age and difficulties on the debate stage. Several Biden fundraising events are reportedly on hold as some big-money donors have urged Biden to bow out.

Should Biden exit the race, control of his campaign’s funds could potentially pass to his running mate, vice-president Kamala Harris, should she become the Democratic nominee. Alternatively, Biden could transfer his war chest to the Democratic Party, which is already a major fundraiser for his re-election effort and reported raising $39m with its main fundraising group in June.

The main fundraising account for Trump’s Republican Party raised $67m during the month.

Trump had outraised Biden in May, when the former president’s supporters stepped up donations in the run-up to his May 30 conviction on business fraud charges, a case that Trump has decried, without evidence, as politically motivated.

The largest super PAC (political action committee) supporting Trump, known as Maga Inc, reported raising more than $22m during the month, including $5m contributions by hotelier Robert Bigelow and by Linda McMahon, a former professional wrestling entrepreneur.

On Biden’s side, LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman gave $3m to FF Pac, a super PAC backing the president’s re-election effort, a separate filing with the FEC showed.

Reuters