Harris Beats Trump In Fundraising
Donors from Wall Street, Silicon Valley, and Hollywood helped Vice President Kamala Harris raise funds in August. The surge has propelled Democrats to a remarkable financial advantage over former President Donald Trump as the presidential election enters its most expensive phase, according to a report published recently by Fortune.
Harris’ campaign raised a whopping $361 million in August, which brought the Democratic party’s total cash on hand to $404 million. Trump’s campaign generated a shade more than $130 million over the same span, though the campaign spent $32 million more than that as part of an expensive advertising blitz to put the brakes on Harris’ momentum.
Harris Now Leads the Financial Race
But the biggest super PAC supporting Trump, Make America Great Again Inc., also burned through cash. While polling in the race is tight, Harris has steadily pulled ahead financially.
The VP’s fundraising effort has included several high-profile events in places like San Francisco and the Hamptons, plumbers-turned-California’s deep-pocketed donor base. Her campaign and allied super PAC, Future Forward PAC, have secured $421 million in paid media for the final months leading to Election Day, nearly doubling the $216 million booked by Trump and MAGA Inc.
High-Profile Donors Bolster Harris’ War Chest
The financial services industry has been a huge backer of Harris. Big names include Oaktree Capital Management’s Bruce Karsh, Bessemer Venture Partners’ Robert Stavis, and I Squared Capital co-founder Sadek Wahba. Other big donors include Siebert Williams Shank’s Janice Savin Williams, legendary oil trader Andy Hall, and JPMorgan Chase vice chair E. John Rosenwald.
Even Hollywood has thrown its weight behind Harris, with celebrities like Scarlett Johansson, Frances McDormand and Carol Burnett contributing to her campaign.
Trump Sees New Sources of Support
Against this background, Donald Trump is almost on the receiving end of new varieties of support, but from the crypto industry, a sector he has courted very actively. Going solo, Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, made his largest reported political contribution to date, giving $289,100 to the National Republican Congressional Committee.
Besides that, Musk formed a super PAC to back Trump and House Republicans; its list of donors won’t be disclosed until next month.
Traditional GOP Donors Reenter the Fray
Longtime GOP donors who had kept their distance from Trump, including hedge fund manager Paul Singer, started writing checks. Notable donors to Trump and the GOP in August included Marc Andreessen of Andreessen Horowitz, Interactive Brokers Group Chairman Thomas Peterffy and Tampa Bay Buccaneers owner Edward Glazer.
Casino moguls Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta and billionaire Diane Hendricks each gave $10 million to MAGA Inc. In the race toward the 2024 White House, both campaigns tap into their networks and influence in a mad dash for an early advantage in financing their roads to the White House.
