President Joe Biden, the Democratic National Committee and their joint-fundraising committees brought in more than $97 million in the final three months of 2023, the campaign announced on Monday.
The sum represents a large haul for the reelection, placing it ahead of Biden’s most recent Democratic predecessor but behind then-President Donald Trump’s 2020 campaign.
In the last quarter of 2019, Trump and the Republican National Committee collected more than $154 million. When Barack Obama ran for reelection in 2011, he and the DNC brought in $68 million during the fourth quarter. Biden and associated committees raised $71 million in the third quarter of 2023.
As it has done throughout the cycle, Biden’s team boasted on Monday the cash it has on hand, which totaled $117 million. The Biden campaign has been able to keep a good chunk of change in the bank in part because it has been relatively frugal, especially early last year. In recent months, it has staffed up and spent more money, particularly on television advertisements.
Julie Chavez Rodriguez, Biden’s campaign manager, called the fundraising figure an “historic haul,” adding, “Our democracy and hard-fought basic rights and freedoms are on the line in 2024, and these numbers prove that the American people know the stakes and are taking action early to help defeat the extreme MAGA Republican agenda again,” she added.
More than 520,000 contributors gave money to Biden and the DNC last quarter, and 97 percent of their donations were less than $200, the campaign said. The Biden team said it held 39 fundraisers this past quarter and currently has upwards of 130,000 donors who automatically contribute every month. A competition to meet with Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris helped the campaign raise more than $3 million alone.
Trump, who is expected to dominate in Monday’s Iowa caucus, has not yet announced how much he raised in the fourth quarter of 2023.