Trump Campaign's Financial Advantage Short-Lived as Democrats Surge with $100M Funds in Just 1 Day

By Thea Felicity

Jul 23 2024, 09:30 AM EDT

A supporter holds a sign as members of the San Francisco Democratic Party rally in support of Kamala Harris, following the announcement by US President Joe Biden that he is dropping out of the 2024 presidential race, on July 22, 2024 at City Hall in San Francisco, California. Biden has endorsed Harris to be the Democratic nominee. Loren Elliott/Getty Images

As of June, Donald Trump and the Republican National Committee (RNC) seemed to gain a solid financial advantage over the Democrats after trailing earlier this year. Following Trump's felony conviction on May 30 and President Joe Biden's rocky debate performance on June 27, donations poured into Trump's campaign and the RNC.

By the end of June, Federal Election Commission (FEC) filings reported the Trump campaign had nearly $45 million more cash on hand than the Biden campaign.

However, a major shift occurred following Biden's announcement on Sunday that he was withdrawing from the race and endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris. This move sparked a historic wave of fundraising for the Democrats.

Republican and Democrats Funding for 2024 Presidential Race

The RNC saw a boost in funds with Trump as the presumed nominee, nearly doubling its cash on hand to $102 million from May to June.

The July 13 assassination attempt on Trump likely contributed to a surge in Republican fundraising, though exact figures for July won't be available until next month. Trump's campaign announced raising over $52 million after his guilty verdict in the hush-money trial, setting a Republican record for single-day fundraising.

In contrast, the Biden campaign spent 93% of the cash it raised in June, compared to just 46% for the Trump campaign. The latest FEC filing showed the Trump campaign with $128 million in available cash, while Biden had just under $96 million.

Overall, Republicans had $281 million available at the end of June, compared to $237 million for Biden and the Democrats.

However, by Monday afternoon, Yahoo Finance reported that the Democratic fundraising platform ActBlue reported processing over $100 million in online donations since Biden's announcement. Harris' campaign alone raised nearly $50 million in less than 24 hours, making Sunday the biggest fundraising day of the 2024 cycle for ActBlue.