Biden campaign announces $264 million in second-quarter fundraising amid post-debate anxiety

WASHINGTON — WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign and the Democratic National Committee announced Tuesday that they raised $264 million in the second quarter of the year, an impressive sum that could help them ease concerns within their own party about last week’s faltering debate performance.

The total includes $127 million raised in June alone, while the campaign says it took in more than $33 million on debate day and after. Biden also has $240 million in cash on hand, up from the $212 million he reported last month.

Hours later, the campaign of former President Donald Trump, who is expected to accept the Republican presidential nomination at the party’s convention this month in Milwaukee, announced an even larger $331 million for the second quarter.

That figure topped Biden’s for the three-month period, though Biden’s campaign noted that the $127 million he took in in June exceeded the Republican’s $111.8 million for the month.

Biden campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez said her camp’s results “are a testament to the engaged and growing base of supporters who strongly support the president.”

The numbers come as Biden’s campaign continues to struggle to quell panic among some Democrats who question whether the president can win the November election after a debate in which he sounded hoarse, wandered off the rails and sometimes gave convoluted answers. Some top campaign leaders have held several calls since the debate, urging patience to donors and key representatives.

Campaign officials, however, insist there has been no discussion “whatsoever” about Biden withdrawing from the race or about any personnel shake-ups.

Biden enjoyed a considerable financial advantage over Trump early in the race, but the former president has narrowed the gap more recently.

In April, which is included in the full second-quarter totals released Tuesday, Biden and the DNC reported raising more than $51 million. That’s far less than the $76 million that Trump and the Republican Party reported raising for that month.

Trump also said he raised $141 million in May, supplemented by tens of millions of dollars in contributions that poured in after Trump was found guilty in his criminal trial for hush money.

Biden’s latest quarterly tally was bolstered by a lavish fundraiser in June in Los Angeles featuring superstars George Clooney and Julia Roberts and former President Barack Obama that raised more than $30 million, a record for a Democratic candidate.

The president’s campaign said nearly half of the donations made after the debate came from new donors. It said 95 percent of all second-quarter donations were less than $200, and more than 1.5 million donors in total made more than $2.8 million contributions.

The campaign said it now has a donor base of 314,000, nearly 100,000 more than it had at the end of the first quarter of 2024 in March.

The Biden campaign has used its funds to open more than 200 campaign offices in key states that work with state Democratic parties and have more than 1,000 staffers. Biden’s team said that following last weekend’s debate, the campaign held 1,500 events in battleground states.

“Grassroots donors across the country are contributing every day because they know this election will determine the course of history,” said DNC Chairman Jaime Harrison.