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President Joe Biden speaks at a campaign event at Pullman Yards on March 9, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia.
CNN
—
President Joe Biden's campaign brought in $53 million in February, a sign of accelerating donor interest in a month that saw an election recount. Crystallized between Biden and former President Donald Trump.
The figure, which includes funds from Biden's campaign, the Democratic National Committee and related joint fundraising groups, contributed to Biden's effort of $155 million in the bank at the end of February.
That's the most money any Democratic presidential candidate has had at this point in the election cycle and gives Biden a significant advantage over Trump, who has lagged behind Democrats in fundraising during the campaign.
Fundraising has been a bright spot for Biden's re-election bid, even as he has low approval ratings and some polls show him not to. Trailing Trump in key battleground states.
Biden's team is spending this month ramping up its operations in battleground states, including opening 100 offices and hiring 350 employees.
The president is also touring the battlegrounds extensively as the general election campaign gets underway, with more stops planned in Nevada and Arizona this week. The campaign is required to reimburse the government for the cost of flying Air Force One on the political trip and cover other travel expenses.
And the campaign has invested heavily in television ads, including a $30 million initiative that began after Biden delivered in battleground states. State of the Union address this month. The campaign said the speech generated $10 million in donations, a large amount not reflected in the February numbers.
Biden's fundraising efforts in February included a three-day swing in California that was expected to raise up to $10 million. The Republican primary in South Carolina, which brought in $1.6 million for Biden's effort, and first lady Jill Biden's email following the release of special counsel Robert Hurr's report, raised $853,000.
A contest for supporters to win tickets to an event next month featuring Biden and former presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton brought in $4 million in February.
In total, the Biden campaign says it has received donations from 1.3 million donors since the start of the campaign last year, with 97% coming in under $200. February was the strongest grassroots fundraising month ever, the campaign said.
“It gives you a barometer of grassroots enthusiasm, especially at this point in the race. It's going to the hockey stick. Your goal at this point in the race is to get as much of the hockey stick base as possible. And that happens because you've got really enthusiastic supporters,” said Rob Flaherty, Biden's deputy campaign manager. He said in an interview.
In 2020, Biden raised money from more than 6 million people, an upside to the number of donors who may emerge later in the year.
As more Americans absorb the reality of a Biden-Trump rematch, Biden campaign officials say — And the possibility of Trump returning to the White House — More contributions will be opened.
In many ways, that change has already begun. In February, a series of e-mail appeals focused on Trump as the GOP nominee and offering reminders of the former president's record boosted Biden's grassroots donations. Overall, fundraising from Biden team emails increased 40% from the previous month.
“One change that happened in this month's trend was really the importance of the developed variance,” Flaherty said. “The best way to elevate is to talk about the president and the agenda and all that. We're just starting to see the effectiveness of anti-Trump content.
