Biden's campaign committee raised nearly $20 million after touting big haul

President Joe Biden’s campaign committee raised $19.9 million from April through June — less than his total as one of a dozen-plus candidates in an open primary four years ago, though his political operation says it also raised an additional $52 million for Democratic Party groups.

The fundraising report underscores how Biden and his team have not yet fully engaged on the 2024 campaign trail and how they are leaning on the Democratic National Committee as the early staging ground for next year’s campaign efforts. Just four people were reported on the campaign’s payroll: campaign manager Julie Chávez Rodriguez, deputy campaign manager Quentin Fulks, spokesperson Kevin Munoz and general counsel Jennifer Maury Riggan. 

Biden’s campaign, the DNC and a joint fundraising effort that includes every state Democratic Party organization in the country announced Friday that they raised a combined $72 million over the second quarter, but the campaign notably did not explain how the money was divided across those groups.

The almost $20 million that flowed to the campaign directly puts Biden slightly ahead of what former President Donald Trump raised into his campaign committee over the same period and behind what Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis raised in less time as a declared candidate.

It’s also a few million shy of the amount Biden raised in the second quarter of 2019, when he raised $22 million as he was duking it out for the Democratic presidential nomination amid a crowded field. And it’s a far cry from the $46 million President Barack Obama’s campaign committee raised during the equivalent quarter of his re-election bid 12 years ago. 

However, circumstances have changed since 2019. Biden, the head of the Democratic Party, is working hand-in-glove with the Democratic National Committee, using his time and resources to help raise money for both his campaign and the party. And the money raised by the national party and the 51 state and territorial Democratic Party committees he’s fundraising with will help fund his 2024 efforts across the country, as well as those of other Democrats on the party’s ticket. 

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That’s why Rodriguez said Friday she was “thrilled to announce” the fundraising haul, which she said will help the Biden campaign “build a strong foundation to win in 2024.” The DNC had $27.2 million in its bank account as of June 30, and tens of millions more are expected to be banked away in a joint fundraising account that will distribute more money to the campaign and the party.

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The campaign ended the quarter with over $20 million in the bank, more than all but two Republican presidential candidates had in their accounts at the end of the quarter — Trump ($22 million) and Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina ($21 million). 

Just over $5.4 million of Biden’s campaign total came from donors who gave the $6,600 maximum gift to his campaign ($3,300 for the primaries, $3,300 for the general election), meaning they cannot donate again for the 2024 election.

The Biden campaign spent just $1.1 million from April through June, and nearly a third of that spending was on “service fees,” mainly to the online fundraising program ActBlue. The campaign’s other top spending included $226,000 on “text message outreach,” $98,000 on “legal services” and $96,000 on contribution refunds, which typically occur when a campaign realizes a donor gave more than legally allowed.