Biden time Those numbers show that, of the campaign committees for the top three candidates—President Joe Biden, former President Donald Trump, and Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis—the DeSantis operation raised the most last quarter. Add expenses to the equation, however, and Biden came out several million dollars ahead. Federal Election Commission filings for each committee show that the DeSantis campaign led last quarter in contributions, with $20.1 million. Biden was close behind at $19.9 million, with Trump’s $17.7 million placing third. Factor in costs, however, and those rankings change. DeSantis, who just started raising money this quarter, wrapped the period with a gain of $12 million, and that same amount in the bank. Trump, who already had a sizable stash, gained $9 million, for a total of $22.5 million in his campaign account. Biden closed out with about $20 million on hand, while posting the largest gain of the three—$19 million. No-spin zone But campaign announcements ahead of the disclosures offered a different spin on who was the king of the quarter. When ABC News wrote up DeSantis’ advance announcement on July 6, the outlet noted that the numbers were only from the campaign committee itself. The reported $20 million haul “surpassed the amount that Trump’s campaign raised during its first two fundraising quarters,” the article said. But the previous day, Politico reported that Trump’s operation had raised $35 million, which “nearly doubled what he raised in Q1.” Now we know that’s half the amount that his campaign actually brought in. But unlike the DeSantis announcement, that total didn’t only represent Trump’s campaign haul. The $35 million instead came from a joint fundraising committee, which splits its money between two other committees—the Trump campaign and his “Save America” leadership PAC. Those types of committees play distinct roles. Most notably, the Save America money—which Trump can use for basically anything else—is off limits for his re-election bid, because candidates can’t use their leadership PAC funds to support their own campaign. Just $15.2 million of that $35 million made its way from the joint committee to the actual campaign. Save America won’t file its own quarterly report until later this month. The Biden team waited a week to respond, announcing its totals on July 14, the day before the filing deadline. The scope of that data, however, was even broader than Trump’s joint fundraising claims. As The New York Times and other outlets reported, Biden revealed a combined fundraising total of more than $72 million. On the surface, that’s double Trump’s joint fundraising haul, and Biden’s campaign cast it as a “blockbuster” quarter. The $72 million, however, came from joint fundraising efforts that included the Democratic National Committee, which means Biden’s numbers could uniquely include six-figure checks from individual megadonors. While the bottom line isn’t apples-to-apples to either Trump or DeSantis, it does reflect one aspect of political strength. Unlike his prospective GOP challengers, Biden’s operation is currently working in lock step with the national party, allowing him to draw early on from a broader and deeper donor base. In the end, however, the lowest announced total—the DeSantis campaign’s $20.1 million—was actually the most that any of the campaigns raised, with Biden only about $200,000 behind. But after the filings added context, another consensus has begun to form: The real winner was Biden. Hole in the bucket In part, it’s because of spending. This week, numerous reports have pointed to signs of weakness in DeSantis’ numbers. That analysis draws in part from reports—published after the FEC filings were released—that the DeSantis team has fired staff as part of an effort to rein in the high burn rate. Trump, to no great astonishment, led in spending, shelling out more than $9.1 million over the last three months. Key expenses included nearly $1.5 million for campaign events, roughly $4 million in various “consulting” fees, and more than $3.1 million for services directly associated with fundraising, such as media placement and donor lists. But DeSantis wasn’t far behind, disbursing $7.9 million. He didn’t start with a large bankroll like Trump, so his campaign ended the period with about $8 million less in the bank than it raised, where Trump’s campaign turned in an overall gain of $9 million, ending the quarter with $22.5 million on hand. Biden, meanwhile, started with a little over $1 million on hand and posted a gain of nearly $19 million. DeSantis’ costs include about $3 million for fundraising—neck-and-neck with Trump. Most notably, however, his campaign reported $920,000 in fees to GOP online fundraising platform WinRed, where Trump’s costs there were effectively zero. That artificially inflates Trump’s bottom line, because that indicated his joint fundraising committee picked up the tab. Up in the air DeSantis also notched about $1.5 million in travel-related expenses. The governor has been criticized for trying to conceal his use of private jets owned by megadonors, and his filing doesn’t offer much transparency, listing all travel costs as “travel” without further clarification, such as for lodging and airfare. About $180,000 of DeSantis’ funds went to companies that specialize in air charters. But those costs could lurk elsewhere in the report. In June, the campaign made two hefty “travel” disbursements to a mystery company called N2024D—about $283,000 and $200,000. Florida business records show that N2024D was created two days before DeSantis officially launched his bid. It was incorporated by members of a GOP compliance firm, one of whom has served as treasurer for more than 500 political committees. The frugal gourmet Biden, however, has pinched every penny. His campaign reported spending just over $1.1 million, ending the quarter with more than $20 million on hand—a little north of $480,000 on fundraising and outreach, less than $70,000 for consulting, and $1,428.03 in travel and lodging.
While it’s notable that Biden quietly kept pace with two candidates who have been on unabashed publicity and fundraising blitzes, The New York Times reported that his campaign appears to be drawing much of its strength from wealthy megadonors, and is still light on small-dollar grassroots support.
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