The candidates together raised over a quarter of a billion dollars in June, pointing to Joe Biden’s financial turnaround, President Trump’s resiliency and the 2020 campaign’s staggering cost.
Former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. and President Trump combined with the Democratic and Republican Parties to raise well over a quarter-billion dollars in June, setting new high-water marks for both men in 2020 and obliterating June fund-raising records from previous presidential cycles.
Mr. Biden and Mr. Trump each raised more last month than what Mr. Trump and Hillary Clinton combined to collect in June 2016 — a sign of the dizzying costs of a 2020 campaign that is already saturating the airwaves and screens in the most crucial battleground states.
For the second consecutive month, Mr. Biden’s haul ($141 million) was bigger than Mr. Trump’s ($131 million), a striking reversal after Mr. Biden had financially limped and skimped through much of 2019 and early 2020.
Mr. Biden had raised less than $9 million in a month as recently as January. But the former vice president’s upward trajectory has been dizzying ever since he became the presumptive Democratic nominee this spring: He raised just over $60 million with the Democratic National Committee in April, $80.8 million in May and then $141 million in June.
“These numbers are pretty astonishing,” said Catherine Gabel, a Democratic digital strategist who specializes in online fund-raising.
If Mr. Biden’s newfound gusher of money was the biggest story line of the latest fund-raising figures, the resilience of Mr. Trump’s donors despite a tumultuous month of bad headlines and even worse polling indicated that both sides are likely to be awash in money all the way through the November election. Record amounts arrived for both campaigns despite the continuing economic suffering brought on by the coronavirus pandemic.
“What is happening for both parties is each side recognizes all the chips are in the middle of the table,” said Jeff Roe, a top Republican strategist who served as campaign manager for Senator Ted Cruz’s 2016 presidential bid. “This is not a small-ball election with little things being debated at the edges.”
Mr. Roe added: “Even if you’ve lost your job, that’s worth $38 to put your finger on the scale and try to decide the future of the country. You don’t have to wait until November. You can impact it now.”
Top Democratic donors, fund-raisers and strategists said the biggest difference for Mr. Biden was that he is now running against only Mr. Trump, instead of his fellow Democrats, and is able to draw support from the full diverse spectrum of the party.
