By Austin Alonzo
Former President Donald Trump and his main allied political action committee raked in about $10 million more in campaign contributions than President Joe Biden’s fundraising apparatus in 2023, according to new reports filed with the Federal Election Commission.
On the evening of Jan. 31, political parties, principal campaign committees, and various political action committees filed their year-end reports with the agency detailing their raising, spending, transfers, and banking activities for 2023.
Joe Biden
President Biden and his aligned hybrid PAC, FF PAC, also known as Future Forward, raised about $131.2 million total in 2023. The committee, Biden for President, and the super PAC held about $69.9 million in cash reserves at the end of the year.
The two groups spent about $93.8 million in total disbursements during the year, according to their disclosures.
A hybrid PAC can solicit and accept unlimited contributions from individuals, corporations, labor unions, and other political committees, according to the FEC. It must maintain two bank accounts—one for independent spending on advertisements or voter drives and another for making direct contributions to federal candidates.
President Biden is facing two main primary challengers, Rep. Dean Phillips (D-Minn.) and self-help author Marianne Williamson, but he is expected to win the Democratic Party’s 2024 nomination.
Another PAC linked to President Biden, the Biden Victory Fund, reported that it brought in more than $159.6 million in 2023. The fund stated that it had $37.5 million in the bank at the end of 2023.
According to its FEC filings, Biden Victory Fund is a nonqualified joint fundraising committee. That, according to the agency, means that it is a political committee working together with “one or more other political committees or unregistered organizations.”
A nonqualified fund, according to the FEC, can “receive limited financial and administrative support from a sponsoring organization that is not a corporation or a labor organization, such as a partnership or an unincorporated association.”
Biden Victory Fund spent about $122.9 million in total disbursements in 2023.
Donald Trump
President Trump’s principal campaign committee, Donald J. Trump for President 2024 Inc., and his main allied super PAC, Make America Great Again Inc., raised a total of about $142 million. The two committees reported about $56.3 million in cash on hand at the close of 2023.
The campaign committee and MAGA Inc. spent about $139.9 million in total disbursements in 2023.
A super PAC can solicit from and make unlimited contributions to individuals, corporations, labor unions, and other political committees, according to the FEC. MAGA Inc. is an unauthorized super PAC, meaning it cannot cooperate directly with the candidate.
Another PAC, Save America, which paid a large portion of the legal expenses associated with President Trump’s various civil and federal challenges in 2023, raised about $52.3 million in total in 2023. Save America reported that it had about $5.1 million in cash at the end of December 2023.
According to its FEC filings, Save America is a qualified leadership political action committee. That, according to the regulator, means that it is “directly or indirectly established, financed, maintained or controlled by a candidate or an individual holding federal office, but is not an authorized committee of the candidate or officeholder and is not affiliated with an authorized committee of a candidate or officeholder.”
Save America spent about $65.4 million in total disbursements in 2023.
In spite of his courtroom challenges, President Trump is likely to secure the GOP’s nomination for president and set up a rematch of the 2020 general election. President Trump has already won the Republican Party of Iowa’s caucus and New Hampshire’s Republican presidential primary.
Nikki Haley
The last remaining major challenger to President Trump’s taking the Republican Party’s 2024 presidential nomination, Nikki Haley, reported a total intake of about $104.9 million in 2023.
The campaign committee for the former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley for President, and her allied hybrid PAC, SFA Fund Inc., reported more than $100 million in total receipts for 2023. The two funds stated that they had about $18.1 million in cash on hand at the end of 2023.
Ms. Haley’s committee and SFA spent about $86.8 million in total disbursements in 2023.
Although Ms. Haley has yet to win a primary, she’s vowed to stay in the race until at least so-called Super Tuesday on March 5. The former South Carolina governor and native of Bamberg, South Carolina, is likely hoping for a strong showing in her home state, which will hold the second Republican primary election on Feb. 24.
Robert Kennedy Jr.
The independent candidate Robert Kennedy Jr., who is hoping for the most significant third-party run in a generation, raised about $50.4 million in 2023.
Mr. Kennedy’s principal campaign committee, Team Kennedy, and his allied hybrid PAC, American Values 2024, raised more than $50 million in 2023. The two bodies reported that they had about $20.3 million in cash on hand at the end of 2023.
Team Kennedy and American Values 2024 spent about $30.6 million in total disbursements in 2023.
Mr. Kennedy, son of former Attorney General Robert Kennedy and nephew of President John Kennedy, is looking to get on the ballot in every state. He initially filed to run as a Democratic Party challenger to President Biden before switching to an independent run. He is now reportedly considering switching parties once again to seek the Libertarian Party’s nomination.
