An influx of Wall Street and Silicon Valley donor support for Kamala Harris is translating into a distinct campaign advantage to the tune of nearly $5 million a day, allowing her to go on offense against Republican Donald Trump.
As the presidential campaign enters the most expensive stretch, Harris and the Democratic National Committee are outspending Trump and the Republican Party each day by a margin of three-to-one, according to the latest federal filings. The Harris campaign spent an average of $7.5 million a day in August, compared to a $2.6 million daily average for Trump.
The rapid inflow of checks from deep-pocketed donors to Harris’ campaign since she replaced President Joe Biden at the top of the ticket two months ago has solidified her status as the financial frontrunner. That’s a title the Democrats lost for several months this spring and summer as Trump pulled ahead in the money race while Biden’s campaign faltered.
Harris has continued to ramp up spending this month. She’s spending $152 million on advertising in September, according to AdImpact, a 21% increase compared to August and more than double the $63 million Trump is spending.
Polls show that Harris has cut into the lead Trump amassed over Biden and she has a slight advantage in some swing states. However, the race remains close.
Harris has won over support from a deep bench of well-heeled donors, including Oaktree Capital Management LLC’s Bruce Karsh, legendary oil trader Andy Hall, Facebook co-founder Dustin Moskovitz, technology venture capitalist Matt Cohler and actress Scarlett Johansson.
The clear money advantage allows Harris to blanket the airwaves and experiment with strategy, spending millions in states like North Carolina and Nevada where just weeks ago Trump allies were feeling confident about their chances of victory. Harris began September with $404 million in the bank, compared to $295 million for Trump, according to the latest disclosures to the Federal Election Commission.
Trump’s operation has already been forced into a defensive crouch, spending $32 million more than it raised in August, as they ratcheted up advertising to compete with Harris. Trump’s political operation has signaled it will have sufficient funding to run a winning effort.
“President Trump continues to build a historic unified political movement powered by everyday Americans from all 50 states,” Karoline Leavitt, the Trump campaign’s national press secretary, wrote in an email.
The money disparity extends to the super political action committees aligned with each campaign. Harris and the outside groups backing her are set to spend $559 million on advertising from Labor Day through the election compared with $306 million for the groups supporting Trump. The Democrats have a spending advantage in all seven swing states.
Trump has several deep-pocketed donors underwriting super PACs to supplement his media buys including Preserve America, funded by billionaire casino owner Miriam Adelson, and Make America Great Again Inc., which has gotten $125 million from investor Timothy Mellon. But their support, which totaled $83 million in September, falls short of the $112 million that Democratic groups, led by super PAC Future Forward, are shelling out.
Harris’ biggest line item from August was for paid media, which accounted for $140 million of the $225 million that her campaign and the DNC spent. Trump and the GOP spent $48 million on advertising, the filing shows.
Ground Game
Democrats are also investing heavily in get-out-the-vote and door-knocking efforts. The DNC spent $10 million on canvassing, employing nine different firms to knock on doors and interact with voters in August. That figure doesn’t include paid staffers also working on reaching out to voters or organizing such efforts. Combined, the campaign and party spent $10.2 million on payroll, more than four times as much as Trump and the Republican National Committee.
Harris’ campaign has boasted of having more than 333 campaign offices and more than 2,200 staff across battleground states, giving it the ability to reach large numbers of voters quickly. It also relies on volunteers for canvassing and phone banking.
Trump’s campaign is outsourcing its ground game to outside groups including America PAC, which Tesla Inc. and SpaceX chief executive officer Elon Musk created. The group spent $15.5 million on canvassing and field operations for Trump in August, FEC fillings show, and $25.8 million since Harris became a presidential candidate.
There’s one area where Trump is vastly outspending Democrats: direct mail. His campaign spent $11.6 million on mailers in August, roughly three times the amount that Democrats spent. He also spent $3.3 million on postage.
Harris’ August spending totals don’t include the $24.5 million she’s sending to House, Senate and state party committees to aid Democrats in down-ballot races, a sign that her campaign is bullish on their fundraising prospects.
