Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris (R) shakes hands with former President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump during a presidential debate at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia on September 10, 2024.
Saul Loeb Afp | Getty Images
Vice President Kamala Harris substantially outraised and outspent former President Donald Trump in August, ending the month with more cash to fund her final sprint to the November election, according to new filings from the Federal Election Commission.
Harris’ campaign raised more than $189 million in August, more than four times the $44 million the Trump campaign brought in.
These figures reflect fundraising specifically for a candidate’s primary campaign account and do not include donations to other branches of the political operation.
The Harris campaign announced earlier this month that it totaled $361 million in August from campaign contributions along with the Democratic National Committee and fundraising committees. That’s a smaller $130 million raised between the Trump campaign and its joint fundraising committee.
Those numbers don’t factor in September donations, which included a $47 million Harris campaign cash bump from nearly 600,000 donors in the 24 hours after the first and only Harris-Trump debate.
Recent FEC filings reflect continued donor enthusiasm for Harris, even as initial hype over the July Democratic nominee has tempered. Harris’ entire political operation raised $310 million in July after President Joe Biden ended his candidacy and endorsed him for the Democratic ticket.
Harris also reversed the donation gap in favor of Democrats, clearing Trump and Republican fundraising leaders before Biden stepped down.
Since then, the Harris campaign has outspent Trump with advertising on television and digital platforms, along with other campaign expenses.
Harris and the DNC together spent $258 million in August, more than the $121 million that Trump and the RNC gave, according to FEC filings.
“As we enter the last part of this election, we are making sure that every hard-earned dollar goes to win over the voters who will decide this election,” Harris campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez said in a press release earlier this month.
Heading into the final sprint of the presidential race, Harris’ team finished August with $404 million on hand, outpacing the $295 million war chest reported by Trump’s operation.
Trump’s campaign assured that the donation would continue throughout the rest of the race.
“The Trump-Vance campaign has momentum going into the final race,” Trump campaign senior adviser Brian Hughes said in a statement. “Our fundraising numbers from August are a reflection of that movement.”
