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The stories that matter on money and politics in the race for the White House
Kamala Harris’s campaign has said it raised $361mn in August, surpassing Donald Trump’s haul of $130mn and extending the Democratic candidate’s financial advantage as the US presidential race heads into its final two months.
Harris’s campaign said it had $404mn in cash on hand at the end of last month against $295mn for Trump. Overall, the vice-president has raised more than $615mn since jumping into the race in July.
“Make no mistake: this election will be hard-fought and hard-won,” said Harris campaign manager Julie Chávez Rodriguez. “But with the undeniable, organic support we are seeing, we are making sure we are doing everything possible to mobilise our coalition to defeat Donald Trump once and for all.”
Jaime Harrison, the Democratic party’s national committee chair, said August was “the best grassroots fundraising month in presidential history”.
Trump raised more money than President Joe Biden in the second quarter of the year as he united the Republican party, became the first ex-president convicted of a crime through his New York “hush money” trial and debated the president for the first time in the 2024 cycle.
But Democrats have been energised since Harris replaced Biden following his withdrawal from the race on July 21.
On Friday, over 90 business leaders signed a letter endorsing Harris, saying her election would be “the best way to support the continued strength, security, and reliability of our democracy and economy”.
The list included high-profile corporate executives including former 21st Century Fox CEO James Murdoch, ex-PepsiCo head Indra Nooyi, and the one-time Ford chief Alan Mulally.
Wall Street leaders backing Harris included Evercore founder Roger Altman and Lazard CEO Peter Orszag.
Harris now enters the autumn with a significant advertising advantage. Overall, pro-Harris political groups have booked about $380mn in ads from September to election day on November 5, compared with $195mn for Trump, according to AdImpact.
The Trump campaign has also boasted about its ability to raise funds from small-dollar donors. But it has benefited from one of the biggest individual donors this cycle — Tim Mellon, a reclusive scion of the billionaire American banking dynasty. Mellon has given $125mn to Make America Great Again, a pro-Trump super-political action committee, according to the latest federal filings.
“With Republicans united and a growing number of independents and disaffected Democrats crossing partisan lines, the Trump-Vance campaign has momentum for the final stretch of the race,” said Trump campaign adviser Brian Hughes, referring to Ohio senator and vice-presidential nominee JD Vance.
“These fundraising numbers from August are a reflection of that movement and will propel President Trump’s America First movement back to the White House so we can undo the terrible failures of Harris and Biden.”
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