Hillary Clinton and her allies have raised money from donors small and large, pursuing an all-of-the-above strategy to fund her bid to win the White House. Donald Trump’s unconventional campaign has relied on small dollar donors, a few big contributors, as well as the billionaire’s own deep pockets and star power. Here’s where they stand, according to the latest official tallies from the Federal Election Commission.
Candidate Raised to Date* . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $766.6M
Spent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $614.0M
Cash on Hand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $152.6M
Super-PACs Raised to Date . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $183.0M
Spent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $159.1M
Cash on Hand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $25.1M
Total Raised to Date . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $949.6M
Total Spent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $773.2M
Total Cash on Hand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $177.7M
Candidate Raised to Date* . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $392.1M
Spent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $315.0M
Cash on Hand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $77.0M
Super-PACs Raised to Date . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $57.0M
Spent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $37.9M
Cash on Hand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $20.3M
Total Raised to Date . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $449.1M
Total Spent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $352.9M
Total Cash on Hand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $97.3M
In September, both campaigns started spending faster than they raised money. Clinton’s fundraising edge allowed her to end the month with more money in the bank than Trump.
Presidential campaigns typically kick into high gear after Labor Day, pouring money into TV ads and voter outreach for the final, critical weeks of the election. Clinton had already long since built a formidable get-out-the-vote operation in battleground states, and has blanketed airwaves and the Internet with ads during the final push. Trump, who relied on earned media (getting on TV without buying ads) through the primaries and digital ads over the summer, has increased his spending on television and cable ads in the fall.
Trump kicked his fundraising into high gear at the end of June, but his campaign has spent far less than Clinton’s.
Clinton was able to build up cash reserves at the same time as she dominated the airwaves and built up her ground game.
Trump persisted in his unconventional strategy through September, spending on digital ad buys, holding big rallies, hawking caps and t-shirts to attract small dollar donors while spending little on television.
TOTALS (AS OF SEPTEMBER)
Clinton's biggest expenditure remains air time, though her campaign has also invested heavily in personnel to get voters registered and to the polls in battleground states.
TOTALS (AS OF SEPTEMBER)
Clinton’s army of fundraisers, which includes extensive outreach to small dollar donors, hundreds of bundlers and big name surrogates like Barack and Michelle Obama, Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders and her own husband and daughter, continue to provide her campaign with a flood of cash. Trump remains the biggest donor to his own cause, having given at least $54 million, but his fundraising operation is not nearly as deep or broad as Clinton’s.
Trump relies on small dollar donors, big contributors to his joint fundraising committee, and of course his own deep pockets.
Clinton’s campaign touts its small dollar donors, but it’s also gotten more than $141 million from those giving $2,000 or more.
* Includes loans and contributions from the candidate, transfers from party committees, rebates and refunds from vendors and other receipts.
While the Republican National Committee has outraised its Democratic counterpart, that’s the only bright spot for the GOP. Clinton’s joint fundraising operation, which she launched in October of 2015, far outstrips Trump’s. The RNC recently transferred $6.4 million to down ballot races, another troubling sign for the GOP candidate.
The biggest spenders backing Democratic candidates, including progressive billionaires and labor unions, have given generously to super-PACs backing Clinton. Meanwhile, some of the biggest Republican donors have closed their checkbooks, or directed money to congressional races, leaving far less money for Trump.
Clinton’s biggest backers have longstanding ties to the candidate, including supporting her husband, their charitable foundation, or her 2008 presidential run. Trump’s campaign brain trust has close ties to his biggest donor, who originally backed Ted Cruz.
* Includes donations to campaign committees, joint fundraising committees and allied super-PACs.