Democrats’ national party committee is outraising and also outspending its Republican counterpart.
By Jimmy Cloutier | OpenSecrets
The Democratic National Committee raised about $68.7 million in August, more than twice what the $40.4 million Republican National Committee raised over the same period.
The DNC’s August fundraising haul brings its cumulative fundraising total in the 2024 election cycle to nearly $385.5 million, according to OpenSecrets’ analysis of campaign finance reports submitted to the Federal Election Commission on Sept. 20.
While the DNC has raised more than the RNC in recent months — and overall this cycle — it has also spent more than its Republican counterpart, ending August with less cash on hand.
As of Aug. 30, the DNC has spent about $365.8 million on the 2024 election, including transfers to other political committees — nearly $100 million more than the RNC.
The DNC entered the month of September with about $50 million cash on hand, about $10 million less than the RNC.
Both national party committees raised more in August than any prior month in the 2024 election cycle, following a similar trend to prior presidential election cycles where the final months before Election Day tend to be the most lucrative for national party committees.
RNC fundraising accelerated in March after Trump wrestled control of the organization and installed loyalists in key positions led by his daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, as co-chair. The national party committee soon doubled its monthly fundraising. In May, the RNC reported receiving more than $30.7 million in contributions, raising more money than the DNC for the first time since August 2023, according to FEC filings.
Fundraising around Trump’s May 30 criminal conviction on 34 felony counts led to another windfall the following month. In June, the RNC again doubled its monthly haul, outraising the DNC for a second time since the prior summer and shrinking the fundraising gap between the two party committees to less than $26.2 million.
But President Joe Biden’s decision to withdraw from the 2024 presidential race and instead endorse Vice President Kamala Harris set off an avalanche of small and large-dollar donations, chipping away at the RNC’s recent gains. Within hours of Biden’s withdrawal on July 21, the DNC reported raising a record-breaking $6.5 million in online “grassroots donations,” according to a DNC memo released the following week.
That cash infusion has allowed the DNC to continue outspending the RNC. And Democrats have more spending planned in the final weeks leading up to Election Day.
In the final week of September, the DNC announced it will be sending nearly $2.5 million across every state Democratic party in the country for the first time in its history, Politico reported. The money is intended to bolster down-ballot races.
“The statehouses are really where change can happen, where a strategic investment like this can make a difference,” said DNC spokesperson Cameron Niven. “This investment right now shows that in the last couple months of the campaign, we’re really making the effort to support all of our state colleagues in all of these down-ballot races.”
As part of the planned cash infusion, the DNC is sending more than $400,000 to Florida, which it calls “a priority state that we know Democrats can win.” In Florida, Trump is still favored in betting markets and leading in polling but some recent polls suggest the former president’s lead is within the margin of error, indicating that the race might be tightening in the state.
The DNC is also investing “five-figures” each in three traditionally red states: Idaho, Louisiana and Minnesota.
Editorial and Investigations Manager Anna Massoglia contributed to this report.
