This archive report was first published on 21 June 2020.
Published on June 21, 2020, the latest Federal Election Commission filings revealed that Joe Biden's campaign raised $80.8 million in May, marking the first time his fund-raising had outpaced that of President Donald Trump.
Republican officials attempted to downplay the Democrats' edge in May, highlighting a Republican war chest of $265 million in cash. However, Biden's campaign has not voluntarily disclosed his full cash figure.
According to the Republican National Committee (RNC), Biden's fund-raising advantages in May were due to his status as the Democrat nominee, which brought higher fund-raising limits and the full weight of the Democrat Party. Despite this, Biden was unable to make a significant dent in the massive cash-on-hand advantages enjoyed by the Trump campaign and RNC.
Colorado Republican strategist Dick Wadhams noted that the coronavirus outbreak had little impact on big-dollar giving, including in down-ballot races. Major donors on both sides continued to contribute significant amounts to super PACs, such as the Senate Leadership Fund, which received $2 million from Home Depot co-founder Bernard Marcus and $1 million from Arkansas businessman Warren A. Stephens.
Wadhams emphasized the importance of Trump's fund-raising machine in boosting Republicans in competitive Senate races like the one in Colorado, where Senator Cory Gardner was outraised by his Democratic challenger, former Gov. John Hickenlooper. Despite recent stumbles, Hickenlooper's campaign received $3.7 million from April 1 to June 10, $1.6 million more than Gardner raised. However, Gardner still had roughly $3.4 million more in cash on hand than Hickenlooper, thanks in part to the Republican Party's support.
