5 takeaways from the last full fundraising quarter before Election Day

Federal candidates have now submitted their reports for what was the final full fundraising quarter before Election Day, offering a snapshot of their financial status with just three weeks to go.

Spending particularly shot up from July to September, which began with President Biden still as the presumptive Democratic nominee and Vice President Harris not yet in the race. Many millions of dollars have also flowed into races from outside groups to add onto what campaigns themselves are raising and allocating.

Here’s what to know from the third quarter filings:

Harris committees nearly double Trump fundraising

As the spring and summer progressed, Trump had started to win the fundraising battle against President Biden. 

Biden got out to a strong start in fundraising in 2023, but Trump closed the gap and topped him in both the total amount taken in and cash on hand by the end of the second quarter in June 2024. But that dynamic has now been reversed in the wake of Harris’s entrance into the race.

The Harris and Trump campaigns themselves have been on a monthly reporting schedule throughout 2024, so they did not file reports for the third quarter. But the joint fundraising committees they have set up allowing them to pool resources with their national and state parties did, showing Harris’s continuing advantage. 

Harris’s two joint fundraising committees raised about $652 million combined over the past three months, almost double the roughly $340 million that Trump’s two committees raised in that time. 

Harris’s advantage had already been clear ahead of these filings as she had significantly outraised Trump in both July and August, but these filings give the most up-to-date picture of where their finances stood one month before the election. Harris’s political operation reached the threshold of $1 billion raised last week. 

Democratic Senate candidates outpace GOP

Democratic Senate candidates’ advantage in fundraising held strong in the final full quarter before the election, continuing a trend that has been present since the start of the cycle. 

In all of the nine states that Democrats and Republicans are focusing on in the Senate map, the Democratic candidate took in millions more during the quarter than their GOP opponent. 

One of the smaller gaps was in Wisconsin with GOP candidate Eric Hovde, whose campaign raised $11.6 million, about $2 million less than Baldwin. But most of Hovde’s total, $7 million, came from a loan to his campaign, bringing the total amount he has self-funded this cycle to $20 million. 

Two of the largest gaps in fundraising came in the two red-leaning states where Democrats are trying to defend incumbents — Montana and Ohio. Both Sens. Jon Tester (Mont.) and Sherrod Brown (Ohio) raised more than $30 million each, also spending more than that amount over the past months. 

Their opponents Tim Sheehy and Bernie Moreno brought in more modest sums of $9.7 million and $6.5 million. 

The amount that campaigns are directly raising and spending only tells part of the story because of other committees for the parties and outside groups. But the advantage is still surely welcome news for Democrats trying to hold onto a narrow Senate majority. 

House Democratic candidates also post impressive numbers

The battle for the House is almost as tight as the one for the presidency, with just a handful of toss-up races likely to determine which party controls the chamber next year. Democrats also came out on top in third quarter fundraising in most of those races. 

Of the 16 House races that the forecast model from The Hill/Decision Desk HQ currently rates as tossups, the Democratic candidate raised more than their Republican opponent in all but one. 

The exception was the race for California’s 45th Congressional District, with incumbent Rep. Michelle Steel (R) bringing in $2.7 million to Democratic challenger Derek Tran’s $2.1 million. But $1 million of Steel’s total was from a loan from the candidate. 

Steel’s race was also the only one of 10 key California and New York races, some of which are toss-ups and some lean toward one party in the forecast model, where the Republican raised more. Those two solidly blue states with a handful of Republican House members have been viewed as critical to both party’s chances in the House. 

Some of the totals that House Democratic candidates raised are more than double the amount their GOP opponents raised. 

Outside groups make up for campaigns’ shortfalls

Many campaigns for the presidential, Senate and House elections are not on their own in fundraising, and funds from outside groups poured into these races, in certain cases helping GOP candidates make up for the Democrats’ advantage. 

Senate Leadership Fund, a group with ties to Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) dedicated to supporting GOP Senate candidates, took in $115 million during the third quarter to help its candidates. Senate Majority PAC, linked to Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), raised a similar amount, taking in $119 million. 

Outside spending has made the Ohio Senate race one of the most expensive non-presidential contests in history, with super PACs especially boosting Moreno to make up the financial deficit behind Brown. 

For the House, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) announced he raised $27.5 million during the quarter, with $19.4 million of it going to campaign committees and $8.1 million going to individual GOP members and candidates. Johnson’s political team said it’s “highest amount raised by a Republican Speaker of the House in the third quarter of a presidential election year.” 

And Elon Musk appears to be one of the biggest outside spenders in the presidential race since he endorsed Trump a few months ago. His America PAC has contributed more than $100 million into 2024 since June, and Musk personally contributed at least $75 million to the super PAC since July. 

His group is just one of the many PACs throwing money into the presidential contest. 

The finish line is near

Campaigns are finally reaching the endgame of the 2024 cycle with Election Day coming up fast. The last major batch of new financial details that the public will receive before then is now out. 

But a couple major deadlines remain before the country goes to the polls on Nov. 5. As the presidential campaigns are on a monthly reporting schedule instead of quarterly, the Harris and Trump campaigns will need to report their September totals by Sunday, Oct. 20. 

And all candidates for federal office will need to submit one last filing ahead of the election by Oct. 24 detailing their totals for the first half of October. 

Campaigns and other groups will still need to decide how best to use their funds in the waning days of the race. Experts and strategists have emphasized that the key for fundraising isn’t necessarily who raises the most but who makes the best use of their cash.