Outside Groups Pledge $1 Billion To Biden—As Trump Reportedly Struggles To Fundraise

Topline

Outside Democratic-leaning groups have pledged more than $1 billion to help President Joe Biden’s reelection, the New York Times reported Tuesday, giving the incumbent a major fundraising boost as the general election heats up—and as rival Donald Trump reportedly scrambles to raise cash.

President Joe Biden speaks at a campaign event at Pullman Yards on March 9 in Atlanta, Georgia. Getty Images

Key Facts

The League of Conservation Voters, a climate-focused group, pledged to donate $120 million to Biden’s reelection, the Times reports, putting the fundraising haul by outside groups over the $1 billion mark.

The biggest groups spending money on Biden’s reelection are super PAC Future Forward, the Service Employees International Union and research organization American Bridge, according to the Times, which have pledged between $140 million and $250 million on advertising and other campaign help.

Outside groups—which cannot directly coordinate with the Biden campaign—are likely to raise between $2.5 billion and $3 billion by November, former Emily’s List president Stephanie Schriock predicted to the Times.

The outside spending comes on top of money raised by the Biden campaign and through the Democratic National Committee directly, which reported having $155 million in total cash on hand going into March.

Crucial Quote

Schriock told the Times that outside Democratic groups have become more motivated in recent weeks as Trump has clinched the GOP nomination. “Folks just did not want to believe that it was going to be Donald Trump again,” she said. “The whole concept that this was happening again just sort of froze them and since Super Tuesday that has changed. People are like, ‘Oh, this is happening and this is real.’”

What About Trump?

Biden’s fundraising haul comes as the Times separately reported Trump has been heavily focused on courting big donors to combat a fundraising deficit compared to Biden going into the general election. The Trump campaign and Republican National Committee had approximately $40 million combined as of the end of January, according to Federal Election Commission filings, though the former president is expected to now get a boost as he’s able to jointly fundraise with the RNC and state parties as the GOP’s nominee. Trump has been “racing” to catch up with Biden on fundraising, the Times reported, though some big donors are reportedly hesitant to give to the former president, given the possibility their money could just go toward funding Trump’s personal legal bills—which he has paid through his PAC Save America.

Contra

Outside GOP groups are similarly likely to spend a lot of money on Trump’s reelection, the Times notes, but it’s hard to compare the two camps’ fundraising hauls right now. While Democratic groups pledge money even before it’s necessarily all raised, Republican groups rely more on big donors and don’t announce their plans in advance, the Times reports. Among the outside groups expected to spend big on Trump is evangelical group Faith & Freedom, which has already pledged $62 million to support the ex-president.

Key Background

The fundraising battle between Biden and Trump has ramped up in recent weeks as both candidates have nabbed their party’s respective nominations. Both Biden and Trump secured the number of delegates needed to become the Democratic and GOP nominee, respectively, on March 12, even as both had already been the clear frontrunner in their primaries. The candidates’ early wins makes this one of the longest general elections since the 1970s, according to the Pew Research Center. Biden’s fundraising boost comes as he and Trump have been neck-and-neck in the polls, though a number of recent polls have given Trump a slight edge. The 81-year-old president has also had to combat a revived interest in concerns over his age, though his animated State of the Union address appears to have helped him with voters, with the Biden campaign reporting it raised $10 million in the 24 hours after the president’s speech alone.

Further Reading

NytimesOutside Groups Pledge Over $1 Billion to Aid Biden’s Re-election Effort NytimesHow Trump Is Scrambling to Raise Cash MORE FROM FORBESTrump Clinches Republican NominationBy Sara Dorn