Biden’s $53 million transportation in February gives him a financial edge over Trump

President Biden’s reelection campaign said Sunday that it had raised more than $53 million in February along with the Democratic Party, an influx of cash expected to boost Democrats’ cash advantage in a general election battle against former President Donald J. Trump.

Mr. Biden, the Democratic Party and their shared accounts now have $155 million cash on hand — up from $130 million at the end of January, his campaign said. The campaign received strong support from small donors for its February fundraising.

So far, Mr. Biden and the Democrats have built a significant fundraising advantage over Mr. Trump and the Republican National Committee, which jointly reported in late January that they had about $40 million in cash on hand. The Trump campaign hasn’t released February fundraising numbers but says it also had its strongest month among small donors — surpassing the $22.3 million raised last August. Mr. Trump and the RNC formed a formal joint fundraising account last week.

“The fact that we have $155 million in cash on hand – 100 percent of which is going towards building the campaign and targeting the six or seven states that will determine the outcome of this election – is just a huge competitive advantage ,” Jeffrey Katzenberg, co-chair of the Biden campaign, said in an interview.

Trump has been reaching out to donors at Mar-a-Lago, his private club and residence in Palm Beach, Florida, in an effort to narrow the financial disparity he faces against Biden. The former president is also facing the financial strain of his legal bills, which are being paid by one of his political action committees.

Both campaigns are due to announce details of their finances on March 20, with a more complete picture on April 15.

In February, Mr. Biden’s campaign said it had received contributions from 469,000 different donors. More than 178,000 people have committed to making monthly donations – a significant amount of renewable cash. The campaign said it had received especially strong responses to fundraising emails that focused on Trump becoming the likely Republican nominee.

The new figures cover the combined fundraising of Mr. Biden’s campaign, the Democratic National Committee and the Biden Victory Fund, a joint fundraising committee between Mr. Biden and the DNC. The campaign did not break down how much each of these entities raised or how much money they individually have on hand.

The figures do not include the money Mr. Biden raised after his State of the Union address on March 7. His campaign said it raised $10 million in the 24 hours after the speech, which served to fuel Mr. Biden’s restart. election effort.

Although Mr. Biden is outpacing Mr. Trump this cycle, the $53 million he raised in February remains far lower than the $86 million Mr. Trump collected in February 2020, when he was a sitting president seeking to re-election.

Mr. Biden has spent heavily this month as the campaign intensifies. He invested $30 million in a six-week advertising campaign in key battleground states and hired new staff. He and Vice President Kamala Harris have also campaigned in several swing states since the State of the Union. Last week, Ms. Harris made a high-profile trip to an abortion clinic, becoming the highest-ranking U.S. official known to do so — a visit that underscored how reproductive rights have become an important issue for Democratic voters.

Mr. Katzenberg said the campaign’s fundraising had “accelerated” as Mr. Biden and his surrogates began hitting the road.

“The more people see Joe Biden and his energy and his enthusiasm and his dedication,” Mr. Katzenberg said, “it has, I think, taken away a whole lot of gossip and a kind of competitive false narrative about him and him. his current capabilities and his mental acuity.”

In the coming weeks, the Biden campaign will ramp up fundraising even further, with two events sure to generate attention and big money. On March 28, Biden will appear alongside former presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama at a fundraiser at New York’s Radio City Music Hall. (The Biden campaign said a sweepstakes-style contest to attend that event raised $4 million in February.)

Next, Hillary Clinton and Lin-Manuel Miranda will host a fundraiser for Mr. Biden on Broadway on April 3.

Rebecca Davis O’Brien And Reid J. Epstein reporting contributed.