President Joe Biden’s campaign outspent former President Donald Trump nearly 6-to-1 in June.
But the massive spending differential helped Trump’s operation extend its cash advantage, underscoring the vastly different financial and political realities of the two campaigns at a key moment in the cycle.
Biden has raised more than Trump, both in June and over the entire cycle, but his campaign has spent massive amounts trying to stay afloat, including tens of millions on advertising in battleground states with little effect in the polls. At the same time, with less than four months until the election, Trump has built up little in-house campaign infrastructure — but he is sitting on a mountain of cash.
New campaign finance reports filed with the Federal Election Commission late Saturday showed just how deeply the two campaigns diverge. The latest reports cover through June 30, reflecting the weeks before Biden’s poor debate performance and its immediate aftermath. They predate more recent upheaval, including the assassination attempt against Trump, the Republican National Convention, and a growing chorus of Democrats calling for Biden to withdraw from the race — events that have further cemented Trump’s position while deeply shaking Biden’s.
The reports show the cash differential between Biden and Trump has been driven primarily by spending. After a post-conviction surge helped Trump erase Biden’s cash advantage in May, Trump’s fundraising slowed slightly in June. Biden’s fundraising, meanwhile, picked up — although that trend has not continued into July, with both large- and small-dollar fundraising cratering amid concerns about Biden’s age and ability to stay on the ticket. That slowdown, which won’t be reflected in public filings for another month, has some Democrats hoping a different candidate could energize donors headed into the fall.
Even as Biden put up a strong fundraising month in June, his campaign reported spending a whopping nearly $60 million. Trump’s official campaign committee, by contrast, spent just $10 million in a month, more than two-thirds of which was on direct mail.
All told, the Biden campaign ended June with just shy of $96 million in the bank, while Trump’s campaign reported $128 million left in its campaign account.
Both men also rely on sprawling political operations that include joint fundraising committees and the national parties.
Including those groups, Trump’s entire operation had $281 million in cash at the end of June, compared to $237 million for Biden. The Democratic National Committee also outspent the Republican National Committee in June, $26 million to $19.4 million, with the RNC achieving a cash-on-hand advantage for the first time this cycle after raising a whopping nearly $67 million, compared to $39 million for the DNC.