New campaign finance disclosures filed late Thursday and early Friday shed new light on how big money, big donors and high expectations shaped the final stretch of the 2024 presidential election. .
The 2024 election cycle was set to be the most expensive election in history, with the candidate raising the most money. usually wins election.
That didn't happen in the 2024 presidential election, even though the campaigns of President Biden and Vice President Harris raised more money than any presidential campaign in history.
That's at least in part because President-elect Trump has outsourced his recruiting efforts to a super PAC funded by wealthy allies, including several billionaires elected to the incoming administration.
Mr. Musk has spent $250 million promoting Mr. Trump since July.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has spent more than $2.5 billion campaigning for the next president since endorsing Trump in July after the assassination attempt.
Musk said this, according to a new filing with the Federal Election Commission (FEC). Total amount: $238.5 million America PAC, a pro-Trump super PAC that led voter turnout in battleground states.
Recent filings also revealed that he donated a total of $23.5 million to two other super PACs supporting Trump.
Super PACs, unlike campaigns, can raise and spend unlimited amounts of money. Coordination with campaigns is not legally allowed, but the FEC this spring relaxed coordination rules specifically regarding campaign activities. response to request Submitted by the Democratic Committee.
Trump took a gamble outsource his ground game To super PACs including America PAC. That appears to have paid off not only for him, but also for Musk, who co-leads the Department of Government Efficiency's efforts to cut federal spending and reduce the size of the federal government.
Elon Musk Revocable Trust too donated $20.5 million on Oct. 25 to RBG PAC, a “pop-up” super PAC that spent about the same amount on digital media defending Trump's abortion positions in battleground states.
The super PAC, which appears to be a reference to late Supreme Court justice and liberal icon Ruth Bader Ginsburg, was formed on October 16, the day the final report to the FEC was scheduled to be filed before the election. . Due to the timing of its formation and donations, the source of funds spent by RBG PAC was not made public until 30 days after the election.
Clara Spera, Ginsburg's granddaughter be publicly criticized The “appalling” ad told the Washington Post that RBG PAC “has no connection to the Ginsburg family and is an insult to my late grandmother's legacy.”
The new filing also includes Mr. Musk. donated $3 million MAHA Alliance is a super PAC that ran ads encouraging supporters of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to support Trump in battleground states. Kennedy withdrew from the presidential race in August and endorsed Trump. MAHA references his catchphrase, “Make America Healthy Again.”
Multiple Trump administration appointments cut big checks to super PACs
Musk is not the only wealthy individual spending large sums of money to support Trump in the 2024 election, and he has taken over many key positions in the incoming administration.
said Howard Lutnick, CEO of investment bank Cantor Fitzgerald, who was nominated by President Trump to head the Commerce Department. Approximately $3 million in “in-kind” donations of stock Make America Great Again Inc. (MAGA Inc.), a major pro-Trump super PAC, according to an FEC filing Thursday evening.
This is in addition to a total of $6 million that Lutnick donated to MAGA Inc. from December 2023 to August 2024, according to FEC records.
Several other billionaire candidates in the Trump administration have donated more than $1 million to MAGA companies throughout the 2024 campaign, including Treasury secretary nominee and founder of investment firm Key Square Group. Including Scott Bessent. donated Total amount: 1 million dollars. Former Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-Ga.) donated nearly $2 million and was selected by President Trump to head the Small Business Administration. Linda McMahon, President Trump's nominee for education secretary, donated about $20.3 million.
Harris campaign reports no debts amid intense scrutiny
In the aftermath of the Democratic Party's disappointing election, Harris' campaign quickly became the target of harsh criticism for how it lost all seven battleground states despite burning through more than $1 billion in funding. It became.
News outlets noted that her campaign appeared to be in debt, but the campaign insisted that was not the case.
As of November 25th, the Harris campaign is Debt and debt was reported as zeroas well as her joint fundraising committee with the Democratic National Committee. harris victory fund.
An intra-party blame game has broken out, with Harris' campaign facing criticism for possibly being in debt, but it is not uncommon for presidential candidates to go into debt after an election.
Trump's own campaign Reportedly around $11.4 million As of November 25, we had debts and obligations to the FEC. 2020 election campaign reportedly failed Over $11.3 million Post-election debts and obligations.
But the main pro-Harris group, the super PAC Future Forward, reported $47 million in debt and debt as of Nov. 25. told the New York Times The large debt was caused by accounting issues related to the timing of invoices, the company said.
Meanwhile, MAGA Inc.'s debt and obligations were $0.
Money doesn't always win
The Harris campaign reported the increase. Approximately $1.2 billion As of Nov. 25, it surpassed President Biden's record-breaking 2020 performance. Approximately $1.1 billion Through the same era.
around it $312.3 million The bulk of the 2024 total was raised by the end of June, just before Biden resigned following his dismal performance in the debates and endorsed Harris as his successor. The campaign reported having just $1.8 million on hand as of Nov. 25.
The Trump campaign raised $477.1 million during the 2024 election, but still Approximately $9.9 million The company still had cash on hand as of Nov. 25, according to an FEC report filed Thursday.
Her campaign spent $462.4 million during the 2024 campaign, still an astronomical amount compared to Harris' campaign spending.
Ms. Harris' loss and the fallout from her campaign spending, including an eyebrow-raising $1 million payment to Oprah Winfrey's production company, worried some within the Democratic Party.
Her defeat began a reckoning for the Democratic Party, which is searching for answers about who or what was ultimately responsible for the party's defeat in the 2024 election.
After Trump was declared the winner, Democratic National Committee official Lindy Lee appeared on cable news and called Harris' White House bid a “billion-dollar disaster,” calling her supporters claimed to have been “misinformed” about her actual ability to win.
Political polls showed the race within the margin of error, and Harris raised huge sums of money as she led the Democratic field.
While her arrival seemed to reinvigorate her base, Harris has the potential to reinvent herself to millions of Americans just a few years after running in the 2020 presidential primary. She had a huge task ahead of her: to introduce herself and convince voters to choose her within months.
Voters rank the economy as the second most important issue (32%) after democracy (34%), and Democrats admit they have a problem with branding and messaging. According to CNN exit poll.
The scrutiny of how Harris' campaign has managed its finances comes just under two months before party members elect the next Democratic National Committee chair.
