ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½

Skip to main content

Biden and the Democrats raise US$264 million in 2nd quarter as they seek to calm post-debate anxieties

Share
WASHINGTON -

President Joe Biden 's reelection campaign and the Democratic National Committee reported raising US$264 million in the year's second quarter, an impressive haul that may help them calm fears within their own party about last week's shaky debate performance.

The total announced Tuesday includes US$127 million collected during June alone, when the campaign says it took in more than US$33 million on the day of the debate and in its aftermath. Biden also has IS$240 million in cash on hand, outpacing the US$212 million it reported having last month.

Biden campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez called the totals "a testament to the committed and growing base of supporters standing firmly behind the president."

The announced totals come as Biden's campaign continues to scramble to quell panic among some Democrats, who have questioned whether the president can win November's election after a debate where he appeared raspy, trailed off and at times gave convoluted answers. Some of the campaign's top leaders have held multiple calls since the debate, preaching patience to donors and top surrogates.

Campaign officials nonetheless insist there's been no discussion "whatsoever" of Biden exiting the race nor of any staff shakeups.

Former President Donald Trump, who is set to accept the Republican presidential nomination at the party's convention this month in Milwaukee, has yet to announce the quarterly fundraising totals for his campaign and affiliated entities. A spokesman said they would release them "when we're ready."

Biden enjoyed a large fundraising advantage over Trump in the early stages of the race, but the former president has narrowed the gap more recently.

In April, which is included in Tuesday's full second quarter totals, Biden and the DNC reported raising more than US$51 million. That was well short of the US$76 million that Trump and the Republican Party reported taking in for that month.

Trump also reported raising US$141 million in May, padded by tens of millions of dollars in contributions that flowed in after Trump's guilty verdict in his criminal hush money trial.

Biden's most recent quarterly total was enhanced by a glitzy June fundraiser in Los Angeles that he held with superstars George Clooney and Julia Roberts and former President Barack Obama. That event took in more than US$30 million, a record for a Democratic candidate.

The president's campaign said nearly half of the donations that came after the debate were from first-time donors. It said 95% of all second-quarter donations were under US$200, and more than 1.5 million total donors made over 2.8 million contributions.

The campaign said it now has a donor base of 314,000, or nearly 100,000 more than at the end of 2024's first quarter in March.

The Biden campaign has used its funds to help open 200-plus campaign offices in battleground states that work with state Democratic parties and have more than 1,000 staffers. Biden's team said that coming out of the debate last weekend, the campaign staged 1,500 events across the battlegrounds.

"Grassroots donors across the country are chipping in every day because they know that this election will determine the course of history," DNC Chair Jaime Harrison said.

CTVNews.ca ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½

Local Spotlight

When Zhya Aramiy was living in Turkey and Iraq, he had to keep his Pride flags hidden away.

A rave at the Ontario Science Centre was the place where Greg LeBlanc says his relationship first began with his husband Mark in 1997.

The city is entering the final stages of resuming water service through its repaired feeder main, as water consumption continues to fall below the city’s threshold level.

A grandfather and grandson duo proudly graduated alongside each other at the same northern Manitoba school.

A large basking shark was captured close to the shoreline on Nova Scotia's Eastern Shore.

The world's largest hockey stick could soon become the world's most in-pieces hockey stick as a Vancouver Island community prepares to tear down and carve up the Canadian landmark.

For half a decade, a Saskatoon family has been trying to bring their orphaned niece to Canada, they say now it’s a matter of life or death.