Joe St. George
Report: Nikki Haley's campaign vastly inflated fundraising totals
Haley's campaign said it had raised $11 million in the first quarter of her campaign. But the actual figure appears to be closer to $8.3 million.
LEARN MOREPosted: 4:56 p.m. EDT Oct 20, 2023
There are a lot of different ways that you can gauge the state of the race for president in 2024.
You can check in on the latest polls, but most polls show that the Democratic nominee and the Republican nominee are going to be locked in a tight contest come next November.
You can look at energy levels on the ground in key states, who's showing up to campaign events and registering to vote. And then you can check in on the race by looking at the money, and who's raising the most.
On the website of the Federal Election Commission, every candidate for president and their campaign committees must disclose their finances every few months. Scripps News had a look.
President Joe Biden's own campaign raised $24.8 million in July, August and September. His campaign reports about $32.2 million cash on hand, that's money the campaigns can spend right now.
Let's compare that to former President Trump. He raised $24.5 million in the last three months. His campaign has about $37.5 cash on hand.
Just like in the polls, Trump and President Biden's fundraising is pretty similar.
But that doesn't tell the complete story when it comes to money in the 2024 election — President Biden is also raising money alongside the DNC and other fundraising committees, and they report over $90 million worth of cash on hand.
The Biden campaign says that's a record for any Democrat at this point in the campaign. And then there is Trump.
Yes, the former president is raising a lot of cash, but he's spending a lot of money on legal bills too — over $37 million worth since the beginning of last year.
President Biden's money haul is allowing him to spend around $1 million a week on ads and ramp up staff in key states and at headquarters in Delaware.
Meanwhile, former President Trump's cash is further amplifying his frontrunner status for the Republican nomination.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' official campaign raised $11.2 million in the last three months. Former South Carolina Governor Niki Haley raised $8.2 million.
Remember though, Trump raised $24.5 million in the same time period.
Money can also tell the tale of campaigns struggling. South Carolina Senator Tim Scott spent $7 million more than he brought in during that time.
But the fundraising totals from individual campaigns only tell one part of the story. Outside groups like super PACs account for millions more in political spending.
One thing all this money talk pretty much guarantees is that there are going to be a lot of campaign commercials on your social media feed and on your television over the course of the next year. In fact, AdImpact is already predicting the 2023-2024 election cycle will set a record in this country.
