President Biden’s re-election campaign said on Sunday that it had raised more than $53 million in February together with the Democratic Party, an influx of cash that is expected to widen the Democrats’ cash advantage in a general-election contest against former President Donald J. Trump.
Mr. Biden, the Democratic Party and their shared accounts now have $155 million cash on hand — up from $130 million at the end of January, his campaign said. The campaign credited strong support from small-dollar donors for its February fund-raising.
So far in the race, Mr. Biden and the Democrats have built a substantial fund-raising advantage over Mr. Trump and the Republican National Committee, which reported around $40 million in cash on hand between them at the end of January. The Trump campaign has not released its February fund-raising figures but has said it also had its strongest month among small donors — topping the $22.3 million raised last August. Mr. Trump and the R.N.C. formed a formal joint fund-raising account only last week.
“The fact that we have $155 million in cash on hand — which is 100 percent going to building out the campaign and focused on the six or seven states that are going to determine the outcome of this election — is just a huge competitive advantage,” Jeffrey Katzenberg, a co-chair of the Biden campaign, said in an interview.
Mr. Trump has been schmoozing with donors at Mar-a-Lago, his private club and residence in Palm Beach, Fla., trying to lessen the financial disparity he faces against Mr. Biden. The former president is also confronting the financial pressure of his legal bills, which are being paid by one of his political action committees.
Both campaigns must disclose details of their finances on March 20, with a more complete picture due on April 15.
In February, Mr. Biden’s campaign said it had received contributions from 469,000 different donors. More than 178,000 people have committed to making monthly donations — a considerable supply of renewable cash. The campaign said it had received especially strong responses to fund-raising emails focusing on Mr. Trump becoming the likely Republican nominee.
The new numbers cover the combined fund-raising of Mr. Biden’s campaign, the Democratic National Committee and the Biden Victory Fund, a joint fund-raising committee between Mr. Biden and the D.N.C. The campaign did not break down how much each of those entities raised or how much cash they have on hand individually.
The figures do not include the funds that Mr. Biden pulled in after his State of the Union address on March 7. His campaign said it raised $10 million in the 24 hours after the speech, which served to kick-start Mr. Biden’s re-election effort.
Although Mr. Biden is out-raising Mr. Trump in this cycle, the $53 million he raised in February falls far short of the $86 million that Mr. Trump collected in February 2020, when he was an incumbent president seeking re-election.
Mr. Biden has spent heavily this month as the campaign has ratcheted up in intensity, investing $30 million in a six-week advertising campaign in key battleground states and hiring new staff members. He and Vice President Kamala Harris have also campaigned in several swing states since the State of the Union. Last week, Ms. Harris made a high-profile trip to an abortion clinic, becoming the highest-ranking U.S. official known to do so — a visit that underscored how reproductive rights have become a driving issue for Democratic voters.
Mr. Katzenberg said the campaign’s fund-raising had “accelerated” as Mr. Biden and his surrogates had begun to hit the trail.
“The more people see Joe Biden and his energy and his enthusiasm and his commitment,” Mr. Katzenberg said, “it has dispelled what has been, I think, a whole bunch of gossip and really sort of a competitive false narrative of him and his capability today and his mental acuity.”
In the coming weeks, the Biden campaign will ramp up its fund-raising even more, holding two events that are sure to garner attention and significant cash. On March 28, Mr. Biden is set to appear with former Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama at a fund-raiser at Radio City Music Hall in New York. (The Biden campaign said a sweepstakes-style contest to attend that event raised $4 million in February.)
Then, on April 3, Hillary Clinton and Lin-Manuel Miranda will host a fund-raiser for Mr. Biden on Broadway.
Rebecca Davis O’Brien and Reid J. Epstein contributed reporting.
Source: nytimes.com
