Trump claws back after Biden wins March fundraising race

Former vice president had raised more in March, but president inches ahead as states begin to open up

John T. Bennett
Washington DC
Tuesday 12 May 2020 14:57 BST
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Despite a rocky month, the Trump campaign has erased former Vice President Joe Biden's March fundraising advantage as the president hauled in over $1m more than his expected general election foe in April.

Mr Trump's re-election campaign and the national Republican Party netted $61.7m last month despite a skyrocketing number of coronavirus cases and deaths, and his own uneven performance leading the country. But as he often does, the president appears to have turned those perceived negatives in a positive.

Mr Biden and Democrats scored big in March, bringing in $73m in campaign contributions. That came after Mr Biden had elbowed progressive hero Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont out of the race as he became the clear frontrunner for the nomination.

The former VP's campaign raised $43.5m of that total, with the Democratic National Committee taking in another $17m.

On the GOP side, the Trump campaign and Republican National Committee have not released a more detailed breakdown of how much each entity raised.

Mr Biden, in a statement, tried to describe his fundraising base as wide, saying "the average online donation to my campaign was only $32.63."

"For my part, I promise I will do everything I can to make Donald Trump a one-term president. We can overcome four years of Trump. But if he's given eight years? I fear we won't recognise who we are as a nation after that," Mr Biden said.

"That's why I get up every day -- and my campaign gets up every day -- laser-focused on building the strongest campaign possible. Because I'll be damned if I'll let Trump win again," he added.

He leads the president in just about every swing state and has opened up a 4.4 per cent national lead, according to RealClearPolitics average of several polls.

For their part, Trump campaign officials touted the $225m the incumbent and GOP have on hand.

"Once again the Trump campaign's colossal fundraising haul reaffirms that President Trump will lead an unstoppable juggernaut this November," Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale said in a statement. "While the do-nothing Democrats have recklessly held up funds for our nation's small businesses and played political games with the lives of the American people, President Trump's consistent record of unprecedented action is met with overwhelming enthusiasm and support."

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