Biden and Democratic Party groups announce raising $72 million in second quarter

Joe Biden’s reelection campaign and Democratic Party groups raised more than $72 million in his first quarter since announcing he’d seek a second term.

President Joe Biden’s reelection operation — his campaign, the DNC and a joint fundraising effort that includes state parties across the country — raised more than $72 million in his first quarter since announcing he’d seek a second term, his campaign manager said in a new video posted to Twitter.

Julie Chavez Rodriguez says in the video that the Biden political operation received 670,000 contributions from more than 394,000 individual donors, boasting a significant a significant cash advantage over Biden’s potential GOP rivals as the campaign begins. She did not say what percentage of the money came from small donors, only sharing that 97% of the donations were less than $200, with an average “grassroots” donation of $39.

The campaign did not say how much of the money flowed into Biden’s campaign committee itself — the most important fundraising figure, and one that will be closely scrutinized by allies and rivals in both parties as a measure of his strength and readiness for the 2024 campaign, at a time when his political standing is in perilous position for an incumbent. Biden’s campaign must file a report with the Federal Election Commission detailing its second-quarter fundraising by the end of Saturday.

Biden had historically struggled to raise money for his past campaigns, but he ultimately set a new record in 2020, becoming the first candidate for any federal office to raise $1 billion from donors as he rallied Democrats against then-President Donald Trump.

Four years ago, Biden raised more than $22 million in his first fundraising quarter for his campaign, including $8.3 million from small donors. At the time, individual donation limits were lower than they are now, and Biden was campaigning against nearly two dozen other Democrats for the party’s nomination.