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President Joe Biden speaks at a campaign event at Pullman Yards on March 9, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia.
CNN
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President Joe Biden's campaign raised $53 million in donations in February, accelerating donor interest in a month that saw the rematch between Biden and former President Donald Trump take shape. There were signs that it was happening.
That figure includes money from the Biden campaign, the Democratic National Committee and affiliated joint fundraising committees, which contributed to the $155 million in the bank from Biden's efforts at the end of February. .
This is the largest amount of cash ever held by a Democratic presidential candidate at this stage in the election cycle, giving Biden a significant advantage over Trump, whose fundraising has lagged behind Democrats throughout the campaign. It will bring about.
The fundraising has been a bright spot for Biden's re-election bid, despite his low approval ratings and some polls showing him trailing Trump in key battleground states.
Biden's cash-rich team has spent this month expanding its efforts in battleground states, opening 100 offices and hiring 350 staffers.
The president has also been making frequent visits to battleground states as the general election campaign gets underway, with additional visits to Nevada and Arizona scheduled this week. The campaign must reimburse the government for the cost of flying Air Force One on political trips and cover other travel expenses.
The campaign is also investing heavily in television advertising, including a $30 million effort in battleground states that began after Biden gave the State of the Union address this month. The campaign said the speech raised $10 million in donations, a huge amount not reflected in February's numbers.
Biden's February fundraising campaign, which included a three-day rally in California, was expected to raise up to $10 million. Other biggest cash-generating moments included the South Carolina Republican primary, which brought $1.6 million to Biden's efforts, and after the release of special counsel Robert Hur's report, which raised $853,000. This includes emails from first lady Jill Biden.
A contest for supporters to win tickets to next month's event featuring Biden and former presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton also raised $4 million in February.
The Biden campaign says it has received contributions from a total of 1.3 million donors since the campaign began last year, 97% of which were less than $200. The campaign says February was the busiest month for grassroots fundraising to date.
“Especially at this stage of the race, it's a barometer of grassroots enthusiasm. It comes down to the hockey stick. And the goal at this stage of the race is to get the baseline of the hockey stick as high as possible. And that happens. Because he has a really passionate following,” Rob Flaherty, Biden's deputy campaign manager, said in an interview.
In 2020, Biden raised money from more than 6 million people, a sign of an uptick in the number of donors who may show up later this year.
Biden campaign officials say the more Americans understand the reality of a rematch between Biden and Trump, and the possibility of Trump returning to the White House, the more donations will be released. Says.
In many ways, that change is already starting to take hold. In February, grassroots donations to Biden increased after a series of email solicitations focused on Trump, the likely Republican candidate, and reminded of the former president's record. Overall, the Biden team saw a 40% increase in email fundraising from the previous month.
“One of the changes that has occurred over the course of this month is that the contrast has become more pronounced,” Flaherty said. “Up until now, the best way to do that was to talk about the president and the agenda and everything else. We're now starting to see how anti-Trump content performs.”