Biden, DNC Raise $58.9 Million in April: Campaign Update

(Bloomberg) -- Presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden and the Democratic National Committee combined to raise $58.9 million in April as they stockpiled cash during the pandemic-induced virtual campaign, their latest filings with the Federal Election Commission show.

The haul was only slightly smaller than the $61.7 million raised by President Donald Trump’s combined re-election effort in April.

Biden’s campaign raised the bulk of the money, bringing in $43.7 million, of which $16 million came from small-dollar donors, those contributing $200 or less. The DNC raised just $15.3 million, even though it can accept much larger contributions, as much as $355,000 from an individual.

In the first full month of lockdowns, Biden spent $12.9 million, down from the $32.5 million he spent in March, when he was still competing in primary contests, including the expensive Super Tuesday contests on March 4. Biden hasn’t run a television or cable advertisement, generally the biggest expense for presidential campaigns, since March 17, according to Advertising Analytics.

The enforced slowdown has allowed Biden and the DNC to stockpile cash, and they ended April with a combined $97.5 million in the bank. That was well short of the $255 million war chest that Trump’s campaign, the Republican National Committee and two supporting fundraising vehicles had.

Biden also launched a joint fundraising committee in late April which has yet to report its fundraising totals to the FEC.

Trump, RNC Raised $44 Million in April (8:57 p.m.)

President Donald Trump’s campaign raised $16.9 million in April while the Republican National Committee took in $27.1 million, according to their latest reports with the Federal Election Commission.

Including the haul of two other fundraising committees, Trump Victory and Trump Make America Great Again, Trump’s re-election effort raised $61.7 million in April, the first full month of lockdowns and virtual fundraising. That combined total, which Trump’s campaign announced on May 11, narrowly edged the $60.5 million raised by presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden and the Democratic National Committee.

Small-dollar donors, those who give $200 or less, accounted for $11.2 million, about two-thirds of the RNC’s total. Grassroots donors gave $4.9 million to Trump’s campaign.

Trump’s campaign spent $7.7 million and ended April with $107.7 million in the bank. The RNC spent $27 million leaving it with $77.2 million cash on hand. Overall, Trump’s re-election effort said it had $255 million in the bank, including the balances accumulated by Trump Victory, which raises money from big contributors, and Trump MAGA, which focuses on grassroots donors. They next report to the FEC on July 15.

Biden said last week that he and the DNC had $103 million cash on hand. They are due to file their reports with the FEC Wednesday. -- Bill Allison

Groups Pressure Biden on Fossil Fuel Stimulus (4:10 p.m.)

A coalition of left-leaning groups is pressuring Joe Biden to undo tax breaks for oil and gas companies in the coronavirus stimulus bill.

In a letter to Biden released Wednesday, 21 environmental and social justice groups called on Biden to develop a plan to block or reverse loans and grants in the Paycheck Protection Program to fossil fuel companies and other direct aid.

“Joe Biden should tell Americans how he’d clean up the massive mess being created by the Trump administration’s disastrous bailout of the fossil fuel industry,” said Brett Hartl, chief political strategist for the Center for Biological Diversity Action Fund.

A group of liberal House Democrats have already introduced a bill that would block coronavirus stimulus to oil and gas companies and other executive actions from the Trump Administration.

The Biden campaign did not respond to a request for comment. -- Ryan Teague Beckwith

Poll Shows Biden Widening Lead Over Trump (3:01 p.m.)

A national poll shows Joe Biden leading President Donald Trump by 11 points, the Democrat’s widest margin since early April.

In a Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday, 50% of registered voters nationally said they backed Biden in a general election match-up, while only 39% supported Trump. The last poll showing Biden with a comparable edge was by CNN in April, when he was also up by 11 points.

The Quinnipiac poll showed an even wider gap on the question of who would handle the government’s response to coronavirus better, with 55% saying Biden and 39% saying Trump.

“At best for Team Trump, it says voter confidence in President Trump is shaky,” said polling analyst Tim Malloy. “At worst for them, as coronavirus cases rise, Trump’s judgment is questioned -- and November looms.”

The Quinnipiac poll of 1,323 registered voters was conducted May 14-18. It has a margin of error of 2.7 percentage points. -- Ryan Teague Beckwith

Coming up:

The District of Columbia, Maryland, Montana, New Mexico, South Dakota, Delaware, Pennsylvania and Indiana have primaries on June 2.

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