WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� President and the said they raised more than $97 million in the final three months of last year, boosted by a star-studded December fundraising blitz that came even as the political world's attention shifted to the start of the .
The Biden campaign said Monday that it took in $235 million from last April until the end of 2023 and finished the year with $117 million in cash on hand 鈥� which it said was the highest total amassed by any Democratic candidate at this point in the cycle. More than 520,000 donors made 926,000-plus contributions in the quarter, it said.
鈥淭his historic haul 鈥� proudly powered by strong and growing grassroots enthusiasm 鈥� sends a clear message,鈥� , the manager of Biden鈥檚 reelection campaign, said in a statement. 鈥淥ur democracy and hard-fought basic rights and freedoms are on the line in 2024, and these numbers prove that the American people know the stakes.鈥�
The president has made defending democracy a centerpiece of his reelection bid and repeatedly decried and his 鈥淢ake America Great Again鈥� movement as posing dire threats to the nation's founding principals. The GOP primary begins with Iowa鈥檚 caucus on Monday with 鈥� and the Biden campaign noted that he and his top primary competitors have already spent $100 million on advertising in the leadoff primary state alone.
Biden traveled to Pennsylvania on Friday and to make the case that his policies have helped grow the economy and spur small business. It was a change from the set speeches he usually gives, meant to highlight ways his have ensured strong employment 鈥� even while triggering that worries voters.
Meanwhile, Trump and his top primary rivals, including former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations and Florida Gov. , made final weekend appeals to would-be caucusgoers as turned frigid.
Since the , nearly 1 million supporters have made more than 2.3 million contributions, and 97% of all its fourth-quarter 2023 donations were under $200, with the average contribution totaling $41.88, it announced. Those totals include donations to Biden鈥檚 political operation and to a network of joint fundraising arrangements with the national and state Democratic parties.
Biden's campaign said December was his strongest fundraising month to date, exceeding a record it said was previously set in November. That helped last year's final quarter outpace the period from July through September, when Biden and his party .
The campaign said the president has held 110 fundraisers since launching, including 39 in last year's fourth quarter alone. That included a string of fundraisers before the Christmas holidays that took him to Boston for , one of which featured singer-songwriter James Taylor, and with the likes of Steven Spielberg and Barbra Streisand.
That fundraising push came after Biden, who frequently , previously staying away from raising money in Los Angeles for months during the . It was meant to quiet some donors who had privately grumbled that the president wasn't doing enough to stock his campaign coffers ahead of November's election, which is likely to be hard-fought and close.
Even with so much travel focused on fundraising, however, Biden campaign officials had tried to manage expectations. They said in December that they hoped to raise roughly $67 million for 2023's fourth quarter 鈥� which would be consistent with the end-of-the-off-year totals from previous Democratic candidates.
Instead, Biden's latest haul outpaced that of President Barack Obama, who with the DNC raised an un-inflation adjusted $68 million in the final three months of 2011, ahead of his successful reelection the following year. Trump鈥檚 campaign announced raising $46 million and had $102.7 million on hand ahead of a 2020 race it eventually lost to Biden 鈥� though its combined war chest with the Republican National Committee at the time was far more formidable.
___
Follow the AP's coverage of the 2024 election at .
Will Weissert, The Associated Press
