Former President Trump significantly outraised President Biden last month thanks in part to a surge following Trump’s conviction in his first criminal trial in New York.
The Trump campaign advertised that more than $50 million flowed in to support him within a day after the verdict was announced, contributing to his total. May helped erase the cash advantage that Biden has enjoyed throughout the election cycle, though both candidates have a lot of money at their disposal.
Here are five takeaways from the campaigns’ Federal Election Commission (FEC) filings this month:
Even as polling has shown the race either neck and neck or Trump slightly ahead in the key states that will likely decide the election, one bright spot for Biden has been his fundraising totals.
Not anymore.
That changed for the first time in April when Trump outraised Biden with $76 million to the incumbent’s $51 million. And Trump widened the difference much more significantly in May with a huge sum of $141 million to Biden’s $85 million.
Trump’s campaign, along with the Republican National Committee (RNC), received 2 million donations last month, a quarter of which were from first-time donors. Meanwhile, the Biden campaign said May was its operation’s best with recurring donors so far.
Trump also now has more money in the bank both in a direct comparison of the candidates’ campaigns and when taking into account the totals for the Republican and Democratic national committees. Filings from the FEC show that Trump and the RNC had $171 million in cash on hand, compared to $157 million for Biden and the Democratic National Committee.
