Harris Raises and Spends Significantly More Than Trump
The vice president garnered more funds than she expended in August, in contrast to Trump’s campaign, which disbursed money at a quicker rate than it raised.
TroibNews 
In August, Kamala Harris' campaign significantly outspent Donald Trump’s, using nearly triple his campaign's expenditures. Despite this high expenditure, Harris managed to enhance her financial lead due to strong fundraising efforts.
This was reported amidst Trump’s campaign also increasing its budget, which saw a considerable leap from July, based on a PMG analysis of campaign finance records submitted to the Federal Election Commission on a recent Friday. The pattern underscores Harris' considerable monetary and structural edge as the election nears. Harris significantly outweighs Trump in terms of available campaign funds and the capacity to utilize them efficiently.
At the beginning of August, Harris was already ahead financially. Over the course of the month, she continued this trend by raising more funds than she spent. On the other hand, Trump's campaign saw its expenditures surpass its income, despite having fewer costs. Harris’ campaign raised a formidable $190 million, compared to Trump’s nearly $45 million.
In terms of August spending, Harris’ team used $174 million compared to Trump's $61 million. However, due to Harris' robust fundraising, she closed the month with a hefty $235 million, maintaining a $100 million advantage over Trump.
Even though direct campaign funds are central, Trump has been benefiting from significant support from Republican Party entities and super PACs. These groups have been heavily involved in ad purchases and canvassing efforts. Nevertheless, campaign funds hold unique benefits such as being under direct control of the candidate and having access to better rates for TV ads, which is crucial given that paid media is now a primary spending area for both candidates.
The Harris campaign allocated $137 million to media production and advertising alone in August. Other major outlays included $6.7 million for air travel, $6.4 million for payroll, and $4.5 million for text message campaigns.
For Trump, paid media was also the largest expense, accounting for $47 million of his total $61 million August spending. Additionally, $10.1 million was spent on direct mail, with just $4.5 million covering all other types of expenses.
When comparing staffing, the Harris campaign and the Democratic National Committee collectively employed over 1,200 people, starkly more than the roughly 320 staff members shared between the Trump campaign and the Republican National Committee.
Since Harris assumed a leading role, her campaign and the Democratic side have consistently surpassed Trump’s fundraising and spending. This turnaround has given Vice President Harris a stronger financial standing compared to the earlier scenario with President Joe Biden as the primary candidate.
For the Republicans, a minor consolation comes from the Republican National Committee's (RNC) budget report, which showed $40 million raised and $60 million spent throughout August, leaving them with $79 million on hand at month’s end—surpassing the Democratic National Committee's (DNC) available funds of $50 million.
The DNC’s major spending thrust was towards canvassing, which cost $10 million. Meanwhile, the RNC’s most significant expenses were for postage and mail production, amounting to $4.6 million.
Outside support has been a crucial strategy for Trump, much more so than for Harris, with independent expenditures in August favoring him $163 million to Harris' $104 million.
Pro-Trump and pro-Harris super PACs also showed significant fundraising activity in August. For instance, Make America Great Again Inc., supporting Trump, disclosed raising $25 million, including significant contributions from high-profile donors. On the Harris side, FF PAC and American Bridge reported raising $36 million and $21 million, respectively, with substantial sums arriving from influential Democratic donors.
Ramin Sohrabi for TROIB News
This was reported amidst Trump’s campaign also increasing its budget, which saw a considerable leap from July, based on a PMG analysis of campaign finance records submitted to the Federal Election Commission on a recent Friday. The pattern underscores Harris' considerable monetary and structural edge as the election nears. Harris significantly outweighs Trump in terms of available campaign funds and the capacity to utilize them efficiently.
At the beginning of August, Harris was already ahead financially. Over the course of the month, she continued this trend by raising more funds than she spent. On the other hand, Trump's campaign saw its expenditures surpass its income, despite having fewer costs. Harris’ campaign raised a formidable $190 million, compared to Trump’s nearly $45 million.
In terms of August spending, Harris’ team used $174 million compared to Trump's $61 million. However, due to Harris' robust fundraising, she closed the month with a hefty $235 million, maintaining a $100 million advantage over Trump.
Even though direct campaign funds are central, Trump has been benefiting from significant support from Republican Party entities and super PACs. These groups have been heavily involved in ad purchases and canvassing efforts. Nevertheless, campaign funds hold unique benefits such as being under direct control of the candidate and having access to better rates for TV ads, which is crucial given that paid media is now a primary spending area for both candidates.
The Harris campaign allocated $137 million to media production and advertising alone in August. Other major outlays included $6.7 million for air travel, $6.4 million for payroll, and $4.5 million for text message campaigns.
For Trump, paid media was also the largest expense, accounting for $47 million of his total $61 million August spending. Additionally, $10.1 million was spent on direct mail, with just $4.5 million covering all other types of expenses.
When comparing staffing, the Harris campaign and the Democratic National Committee collectively employed over 1,200 people, starkly more than the roughly 320 staff members shared between the Trump campaign and the Republican National Committee.
Since Harris assumed a leading role, her campaign and the Democratic side have consistently surpassed Trump’s fundraising and spending. This turnaround has given Vice President Harris a stronger financial standing compared to the earlier scenario with President Joe Biden as the primary candidate.
For the Republicans, a minor consolation comes from the Republican National Committee's (RNC) budget report, which showed $40 million raised and $60 million spent throughout August, leaving them with $79 million on hand at month’s end—surpassing the Democratic National Committee's (DNC) available funds of $50 million.
The DNC’s major spending thrust was towards canvassing, which cost $10 million. Meanwhile, the RNC’s most significant expenses were for postage and mail production, amounting to $4.6 million.
Outside support has been a crucial strategy for Trump, much more so than for Harris, with independent expenditures in August favoring him $163 million to Harris' $104 million.
Pro-Trump and pro-Harris super PACs also showed significant fundraising activity in August. For instance, Make America Great Again Inc., supporting Trump, disclosed raising $25 million, including significant contributions from high-profile donors. On the Harris side, FF PAC and American Bridge reported raising $36 million and $21 million, respectively, with substantial sums arriving from influential Democratic donors.
Ramin Sohrabi for TROIB News
