Biden campaign announces massive fundraising haul

President Joe Biden and the Democratic National Committee as well as their joint fundraising committees for the 2024 campaign took in more than $97m in the last three months of last year.

The campaign revealed the figures on Monday, showing that Mr Biden is ahead of where the Obama campaign was at a similar juncture, but behind then-President Donald Trump’s 2020 re-election campaign, Politico notes.

During the last quarter of 2019, Mr Trump and the Republican National Committee had gathered more than $154m. In 2011, as then-President Barack Obama was running for re-election, his campaign and the DNC brought $68m during the last quarter.

In the third quarter of last year, Mr Biden and committees connected to his re-election effort gathered $71m. The Biden campaign noted on Monday that it has $117m in cash on hand.

The campaign has held onto much of its cash, holding back on spending, particularly at the beginning of 2023. In the last few months, the campaign has boosted spending, with a focus on TV ads.

Biden campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez said it was a “historic haul,” according to Politico.

“Our democracy and hard-fought basic rights and freedoms are on the line in 2024, and these numbers prove that the American people know the stakes and are taking action early to help defeat the extreme MAGA Republican agenda again,” she said.

In the last three months of 2023, more than 520,000 contributors donated funds to Mr Biden and the DNC. The campaign noted that 97 per cent of the donations were less than $200. They added that they organised 39 fundraisers during the most recent quarter. The campaign has around 130,000 people who donate every month. A competition to meet with Mr Biden and Vice President Kamala