In the middle of the fifth 2020 Democratic presidential primary debate Wednesday night, the Democratic National Committee’s October fundraising numbers were revealed online — and they weren’t good.
“The DNC reported less than $8.7 million cash on hand and over $7 million debt in an FEC report released Wednesday,” The Daily Caller’s William Davis reported Wednesday, along with a post providing an image of the “disappointing” October filing.
The filing shows the DNC ending the month with $8,749,032.47 in cash on hand and $7,048,710.14 in unpaid bills. T’he document also shows that the Democrats have pulled in just over $50 million from individual for the entire election cycle.
NEW FEC F3X
DNC SERVICES CORP./DEM. NAT'L COMMITTEE
RCPT $9,021,159
EXPN $8,918,615
COH $8,749,033https://t.co/87q69UQCOM pic.twitter.com/FWBUoe5v4X— CATargetBot (@CATargetBot) November 21, 2019
The rather grim figures come amid record-breaking numbers from Republicans and President Trump. In the third quarter of this year, Trump and the Republican National Committee brought in $125 million.
“The Trump 2020 campaign’s fundraising arm said Tuesday that it has raised more than $308 million in 2019 and has more than $156 million in the bank,” Fox News reported in early October. For context, Fox notes that former President Obama and the DNC raised just over $70 million in the third quarter of 2011, the year before his re-election year.
Among the reasons the RNC says they’ve been so successful are Trump’s campaign efforts and the Democrats’ aggressive attacks on Trump. The latter, said RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel, is inspiring Trump’s supporters to be generous in their giving.
“We are investing millions on the airwaves and on the ground to hold House Democrats accountable, highlight their obstruction, and take back the House and reelect President Trump in 2020,” said McDaniel, as reported by Fox.
While the DNC continues to struggle to compete, the leading Democratic presidential candidates are doing their best to bring in donations. In October, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) was narrowly leading the pack with $25 million raised in the third quarter. But leading Democratic candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) nearly matched Sanders’ third quarter haul.
“Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s presidential campaign said Friday it raised $24.6 million in the third quarter and has $25.7 million cash on hand, further solidifying her rise to the top tier in the Democratic primary,” Politico reported last month. “The haul bests the $19 million Warren raised last quarter but trails progressive rival Sen. Bernie Sanders, whose third-quarter total of $25.3 million is the biggest one so far from the Democratic presidential hopefuls.”
The other Democratic frontrunner, former Vice President Joe Biden, brought in less than $16 million in the third quarter, and, as reported by CNN, ended up spending more than he hauled in, putting him at a financial disadvantage to others, particularly Warren and Sanders.
“Biden’s campaign entered October with $8.98 million remaining in its bank account, after spending more than $17.6 million during the July-to-September quarter,” CNN reported in mid-October. “Biden raised $15.7 million during the quarter, according to a report filed by his campaign on Tuesday, shortly after the conclusion of the fourth Democratic presidential debate. The cash Biden has remaining a little more than three months before the Iowa caucuses puts him at a financial disadvantage to rivals such as Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who reported having more than $33 million stockpiled for the primary slog ahead.”
South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg (D) managed to haul in $19 million in the same period, while Sen. Kamala Harris brought in around $11 million in the third quarter.