Kamala Harris supercharged Democratic fundraising in July after taking over the top of the party’s presidential ticket, new federal filings show, helping erase what had been an emerging cash advantage for Republican nominee Donald Trump.
The new filings also show independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. facing dwindling campaign resources and refunding contributions from his running mate, who said on a podcast posted Tuesday that the campaign is considering exiting the race and endorsing Trump.
Meanwhile, prominent outside groups funded by top megadonors raked in millions amid the transformed presidential race, and spent millions more on recharged advertising campaigns.
Here are takeaways from the latest round of monthly filings with the Federal Election Commission, which cover fundraising and spending activity for July, including the three weeks before Biden dropped out of the presidential race and backed Harris.
Harris’ principal campaign committee reported about $220 million in cash on hand at the end of July, a massive jump from the nearly $96 million that the committee reported at the start of the month, when it was still under President Joe Biden’s control.
Harris’ bank balance also bested the $151 million the Trump campaign reported in its principal account on July 31. It’s a dramatic reversal from the end of June, when Trump led Biden in cash on hand by more than $30 million ($128 million to $96 million).
Both Harris and Trump raise most of their campaign funds through joint fundraising committees, which split proceeds between the presidential campaigns, national party committees and dozens of other allies.
Including all of those allies, Harris announced earlier this month that she had raised a record-breaking $310 million in July, including $200 million in just her first week after stepping in for Biden. A Harris campaign official said the team expects to cross the $500 million mark in fundraising in the coming days. By comparison, Trump previously announced that his entire political operation had raised a total of $139 million in July.
The new filings from each candidate’s principal campaign committee reflect that broader advantage. Harris reported that she brought in $204.5 million directly to her campaign account in July, including funds raised during the weeks when Biden was still in the race.
By contrast, Trump’s campaign reported raising $47.5 million directly to his campaign account over the same stretch. His campaign was also dramatically outspent by Harris’ campaign over the course of the month, $81 million to $24 million.
Amid the intensifying cash race, both national party committees also reported hauling in tens of millions, though the Republican National Committee grew its cash advantage with the Democratic National Committee spending heavily in July.
The RNC raised nearly $31 million, spent $33.5 million, and entered August with about $99 million on hand. By comparison, the DNC also raised nearly $31 million but spent $43 million and ended the month with just under $66 million in cash.
The new FEC filings show that, in July, megadonors from both parties plowed millions into prominent outside groups, which spent big in response to the changed presidential landscape.
FF PAC, the leading super PAC backing Harris, raised nearly $30 million, including a $5 million contribution from investment executive Marc Stad on July 25, four days after Biden withdrew from the race. The super PAC spent more than $27 million in July, including more than $20 million on independent expenditures, mostly for paid media aimed at supporting Harris’ bid.
MAGA Inc., a leading pro-Trump super PAC, had an even bigger month, raising nearly $55 million in July, and spending more than $43 million on independent expenditures aimed at boosting Trump.
Nearly all of MAGA Inc.’s haul last month came from a single $50 million contribution on July 15 – before Biden dropped out – from reclusive billionaire Tim Mellon, an heir to a historic banking fortune who has now given the super PAC a total of $115 million so far this election cycle.
This was Mellon’s second $50 million donation to MAGA Inc. – after a contribution made in May of this year. The two donations represent the largest individual contributions reported to the FEC so far this year.
Data from the ad tracking firm AdImpact illustrates how potent a force those outside groups have been in the early weeks of the upended race.
In the four weeks following Biden’s decision to drop out, outside groups – led by FF PAC, MAGA Inc., and the pro-Trump Preserve America – spent more than $180 million combined on ads amid a frantic scramble to define the new general election.
Over that stretch, FF PAC has spent a total of nearly $70 million on ads, including putting more than $20 million behind a spot that features clips of Harris making her campaign pitch at a rally. “I’m running to fight for an America where the economy works for working people, where you only have to work one job to pay the bills, and where hard work is rewarded, where reproductive rights are not just protected by the Constitution of the United States, but guaranteed in every state,” Harris says in the ad.
Countering those efforts, MAGA Inc. spent more than $50 million in ads over the same period. It put nearly $15 million behind an ad branding Harris “a dangerous San Francisco liberal” and slamming her record as a former district attorney and California attorney general.
Outside groups are poised to play a decisive role in the closing months of the 2024 campaign. AdImpact data shows that Democratic groups, led by FF PAC, have more than $278 million in future ad reservations for the presidential race through Election Day, while Republicans have nearly $140 million booked. And those totals are likely to continue to grow as November approaches, with spending in the 2024 race projected to break records.
The latest filings also raise questions about the future of Kennedy’s long-shot White House bid. The independent candidate has reportedly sought meetings with both Harris and Trump about potential roles in future administrations, and his running mate, Nicole Shanahan, said on a podcast posted Tuesday that the campaign is considering dropping out of the race and endorsing Trump.
Kennedy’s campaign ended July with just $3.9 million on hand and reported nearly $3.5 million in outstanding debts to private security executive Gavin de Becker for several security-related expenditures.
The filing showed that Kennedy’s campaign refunded nearly $1 million in July to Shanahan, an attorney and Silicon Valley executive whose personal fortune was seen as a potentially significant asset. Shanahan had given more than $13 million prior to the refund, crucial funds for a campaign lacking the support of any major-party infrastructure.
Those limited resources will add further pressure on a campaign already facing the challenge of securing ballot access in several states, including New York – where earlier this month, a judge rejected Kennedy’s submission – while also navigating an electoral terrain significantly reshaped by Harris’ elevation to Democratic nominee.
CNN’s Betsy Klein contributed to this report.
Read the full article here
