Biden outraises Trump for second straight month

Trump’s reelection team, along with the Republican National Committee, raised $131 million in June.

Both campaigns also earned respective record numbers during the April-June second quarter: Biden with $282 million and Trump with $131 million.

Biden’s campaign has not yet disclosed its cash-on-hand figure, though it will be well behind Trump’s figure. At the end of May, Democrats had about $122 million.

Top Biden aides and allies have downplayed that gap in recent weeks, noting that Trump already has spent lavishly on advertising and voter outreach, yet still finds himself trailing Biden in national and many battleground state polls.

Still, the Trump campaign’s deep pockets have allowed the president a head start on everything from reserving television advertising months from now to building a sophisticated data operation to target his supporters online.

On Wednesday, hundreds of officials who worked for former President George W. Bush launched a Super PAC to support Biden. The Super PAC, 43 alumni for Biden, says its goal is to "unite and mobilize a community of historically Republican voters who are dismayed and disappointed by the damage done to our nation by Donald Trump's presidency."

As a Super PAC, the group’s members are forbidden by law from working with or communicating with the Biden campaign, but they can raise unlimited amounts of money to support the candidate.

While Biden's fundraising efforts have reached record limits for his campaign recently, Trump holds a massive financial lead. Biden said Tuesday he will not make personal campaign appearances during the coronavirus pandemic, but Trump has already held several recent campaign and fundraising efforts.

Trump’s reelection plans have been rocked by the coronavirus pandemic, a severe economic recession and weeks of nationwide protests over racial injustice. That’s added to a sense of urgency to build on the more than $250 million Trump already has in the bank to overcome stiff headwinds.

“There is definitely pent-up excitement for in-person fundraisers,” said Republican National Committee spokesman Michael Ahrens. “Donors are eager to support the campaign and our party.”

Republican Party and Trump campaign officials held virtual fundraising events during the pandemic, but in-person events featuring the president are far more lucrative. Trump is planning a steady stream of fundraisers to keep his campaign flush with cash through Election Day.

Trump’s return to the fundraising circuit comes after his cash intake slowed during the pandemic. He barely eked out a lead over Biden in April, taking in $61.7 million, compared with the $60 million Biden raised with the Democratic National Committee.

Biden’s April haul was all the more impressive because for much of that month he had not yet entered into a joint fundraising agreement with the DNC, a step that now allows him to rake in massive checks from wealthy donors that can top $600,000.

And while Trump has raised a record-breaking $742 million and sits on massive cash reserves, he will need a new influx of money as he seeks to redefine Biden and bolster his own approval rating.

In late May, the Trump campaign placed a $5 million ad buy on broadcast and cable TV, according to Advertising Analytics. The spending targeted battlegrounds including Florida, Ohio, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Wisconsin and Iowa.

Facebook advertising figures show the campaign has run more than $11.5 million in ads during the last 90 days. And his campaign committees have spent $10.6 million on Google ads since early April.

Biden recently launched his first major television ad campaign of the general election, a $15 million, five-week blitz in six battleground states that Trump won in 2016. The campaign includes TV and digital ads in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan, North Carolina, Florida and Arizona.

The campaign also began Spanish-language ads in Florida and Arizona and began putting emphasis on African American print and radio outlets on Juneteenth.