$740

million

Raised by Trump, his
committees and the RNC

$680

million

Raised by Democratic
candidates and the DNC

Who's winning the 2020 money race?

President Trump's reelection effort has had a big head start over his Democratic rivals. Unlike his predecessors, Trump began raising money toward his reelection shortly after he was elected. The result: a fundraising machine that already has amassed more than $740 million toward his reelection and strengthening the Republican Party.

He draws contributions from wealthy backers, as well as small-dollar donors from his loyal base of supporters giving money online.

That raises the stakes for Democrats, who still have a long way to go before they consolidate their donor energy behind one nominee who can close the money gap with Trump. There are signs that enthusiasm is building for Democrats: In the third quarter, the Democratic field together with the Democratic National Committee exceeded the amount raised by Trump, the Republican National Committee and the affiliated committees raising money for them.

Click on a column to sort the table.

Raised in Q3 Total raised Share from small donations Cash on hand

Bernie Sanders

$25M

$74M

58%

$34M

Burn rate: 54%

Elizabeth Warren

$25M

$60M

53%

$26M

Burn rate: 57%

Pete Buttigieg

$19M

$52M

47%

$23M

Burn rate: 54%

Tom Steyer

$50M

$47.6m in loans to own campaign

$50M

3%

$3M

Burn rate: 95%

Joe Biden

$16M

$38M

35%

$9M

Burn rate: 74%

Kamala Harris

$12M

$37M

39%

$11M

Burn rate: 70%

John Delaney

$865k

$400k in loans to own campaign

$27M

1%

$548k

Burn rate: 98%

Cory Booker

$6M

$18M

23%

$4M

Burn rate: 77%

Beto O'Rourke

$4M

$17M

52%

$3M

Burn rate: 80%

Amy Klobuchar

$5M

$17M

32%

$4M

Burn rate: 79%

Andrew Yang

$10M

$15M

66%

$6M

Burn rate: 54%

Marianne Williamson

$3M

$9M

42%

$724k

Burn rate: 59%

Tulsi Gabbard

$3M

$9M

47%

$2M

Burn rate: 76%

Julián Castro

$3M

$8M

66%

$672k

Burn rate: 90%

Michael Bennet

$2M

$6M

30%

$2M

Burn rate: 67%

Steve Bullock

$2M

$4M

33%

$1M

Burn rate: 68%

Tim Ryan

$426k

$1M

32%

$158k

Burn rate: 87%

Joe Sestak

$374k

$374k

23%

$205k

Burn rate: 45%

During the third quarter, the gap between the top fundraisers and the rest widened significantly, pointing to challenges for candidates struggling to gain traction.

The benefits of a strong small-dollar fundraising game became clear during the third quarter, a notoriously difficult time for in-person fundraising events because of the summer lull. The top fundraisers — Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) — leaned heavily on their army of low-dollar donors to post large hauls.

On the flip side, the limitations of candidates without such a dedicated small-dollar following showed in the third quarter. The other top-raising candidates — Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Ind., and former vice president Joe Biden — all had a much smaller share of donations coming from those giving less than $200.

During the summer, all three had a full schedule of private fundraisers with wealthy backers giving the maximum amount to their campaigns. Sanders and Warren, meanwhile, have eschewed such events, offering maxed-out donors private access to the candidate. Their small-dollar strategy paid off in the third quarter.

Raised in Q3 Total raised Share from small donations Cash on hand

Republican National Committee

$37M

$413M

43%

$54M

Trump fundraising committees

$71M

$261M

25%

$16M

Donald Trump

$14M

$61M

11%

$83M

Note: RNC data as of Aug. 31.

Trump's haul is buoyed by his advantage as the incumbent backed by the national party committee. This means he can raise much larger amounts of money from wealthy donors to his campaign and the RNC.

Trump has also proved to be a successful small-dollar fundraiser. He constantly taps his online supporters through emails, texts and digital advertisements to give a few dollars at a time or to purchase Make America Great Again merchandise to show support for his presidency and his reelection.

$120

million

Raised by
Trump, his committees
and the RNC in Q3 up to Aug. 31

$200

million

Raised by
Democratic candidates
and the DNC in Q3 up to Aug. 31

On the Democratic side, donors largely sat on the sidelines waiting for the field to take shape.

As the DNC works to rebuild donors' trust after an organizational reset following the 2016 election, party officials say they are rebuilding their fundraising capabilities so that they can pass on a stronger national party for the nominee in 2020 than they did in the last presidential election.

Anu Narayanswamy

Anu Narayanswamy is the data reporter for the national political enterprise and accountability team at The Washington Post, with a focus on money and politics.

Kevin Schaul

Kevin Schaul is a senior graphics editor for The Washington Post. He covers national politics and public policy using data and visuals.

Brittany Renee Mayes

Brittany Renee Mayes joined The Washington Post as a general assignment graphics reporter in June 2018. She previously worked at NPR on the visuals team as a news applications developer.

About this story

Source: Federal Election Commission. Small donations refer to contributions of $200 or less.

Originally published April 16, 2019.