Former President Trump, who is chasing Vice President Kamala Harris in his 2024 fundraising campaign, will head to Texas next week, a state that has long served as an ATM for Republican White House candidates.
Aiming to close the funding gap with Harris, the former president is scheduled to lead a luncheon in Midland, Texas, on October 2nd to address donors from oil-producing countries. The luncheon will be followed by a cocktail reception in Houston, a Trump political official confirmed to Fox News Digital.
President Trump will also headline a fundraiser in Dallas during his Texas campaign.
Harris raised nearly $190 million for her 2024 campaign in August, and the Trump campaign deposited it into her main campaign account last month, according to the latest figures available from the Federal Election Commission. That was more than four times the reported $44.5 million.
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Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at the Economic Club of Pittsburgh on the Carnegie Mellon University campus on September 25, 2024 in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Jean J. Pasker)
And the vice president's campaign entered September with $235 million in cash on hand, far more than the $135 million in President Trump's coffers, according to FEC filings.
The latest cash figures are another sign of the vice president's intentions. Rapid increase in donations Since replacing President Biden at the top of the Democratic 2024 ticket more than two months ago.
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This is not the first time Trump has faced a funding shortfall. His approval ratings were lower than they were when Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton won the White House in 2016 and when President Biden lost reelection four years ago.
“The Democratic micro-fund-raising machine is much better,” said David E., an oil drilling company CEO and prominent Republican donor who raised large sums of money for Trump in the 2020 and 2024 cycles. Dan Everhart, who is also a funder, confirmed this.
Republican presidential candidate and former President Trump addresses the press at Trump Tower in New York City on September 26, 2024. (Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images)
Eberhart pointed to a surge in grassroots fundraising earlier this year after Trump made history as the first former or current president to be convicted in a criminal trial. “He's the greatest micro-fundraiser of all time. But I still think he is.” Overall, I think the Democratic Party's small-dollar fundraising machine is better. ”
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The Biden campaign and Democratic National Committee maintained a fundraising lead over Trump and the Republican National Committee earlier this year. However, in the second quarter of 2024, Trump and the RNC outraised Biden and the DNC by $331 million to $264 million.
After his disastrous performance in the debate with Trump in late June, Biden temporarily slowed his fundraising efforts as donors showing their support for the 81-year-old president briefly spent large sums of money. enjoyed a sharp increase.
President Biden participates in the first presidential debate of the 2024 election season with Republican presidential candidate former President Trump in Atlanta on June 27, 2024. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images)
But Biden's sluggish and erratic debate performance immediately raised questions about his physical and mental ability to serve in the White House for another four years, with some in his own party questioning his ability to serve in the White House for another four years. There have been growing calls for an end to this challenge. The temporary surge in funding did not last and began to slow significantly by early July.
Biden declined to withdraw from the 2024 race on July 21, and the party quickly solidified around Harris, who has seen her fundraising surge with small donations. did.
And the Harris campaign noted that the vice president raised $47 million in 24 hours after her first and perhaps only debate with President Trump earlier this month.
Democratic presidential candidate and Vice President Kamala Harris listens to Republican presidential candidate and former President Trump speak during the presidential debate at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia on September 10, 2024. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)
Matt Brooks, CEO of the Republican Jewish Federation, told Fox News: “Since Act Blue first began, we have continued to play catch-up and continue to see the effects of mining low-dollar micro-fundraising. We've been looking for ways to do so,” he told Fox News, pointing out the Democratic Party's claims. -line fundraising platform.
“There's no question that Democrats have mastered small-dollar fundraising,” said Brooks, who has close ties to the Republican donor base, but added, “I think we're getting better and better. “I like the trajectory we're on.” ”
However, a Trump political aide said, “Donors have already given their maximum amount, so there's not a lot of free space left over from that. moments of kindness.” Passing debates, choosing vice presidential candidates, and conventions are all a thing of the past. ”
Fundraising is an important indicator of a campaign, along with public opinion polls, and is a measure of a candidate's popularity and the strength of a campaign. Funds raised can be used to hire staff, expand grassroots efforts and get out the vote, create and run ads on TV, radio, digital and mail, and travel expenses for candidates, among other things.
“We're going to outspend, and that's going to lead to a more favorable ground game for Harris,” one veteran Republican operative, who requested anonymity to speak more freely, told Fox News.
But Brooks emphasized that “the saving grace is that we have strong support from big donors and large donors who participate in super PACs. We need to take that into consideration.”
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“I think you need to look at the totality of pro-Trump money that's out there. I think super PACs can help level the playing field a lot,” he added.
When asked about the lack of funding, Republican National Committee C“Democrats have a ton of money. Democrats always have a ton of money,” Michael Whatley told Fox News Digital earlier this month.
But he added: “We absolutely have the resources we need to get our message across to all the voters we're talking to, and we feel very confident that we can see this campaign through to its conclusion.” emphasized. We're going to win on November 5th.”
Get the latest on the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more with Fox News Digital's Election Hub.
