Biden-Harris campaign says it has largest war chest of any Democratic candidate in history

The Biden-Harris reelection campaign announced on Monday it has $117 million on hand, in what aides claim is the largest sum for any Democratic candidate in history at this point in the race.

The president and vice president’s team said it raised more than $97 million in the fourth quarter of 2023. The total includes fundraising efforts by the campaign, joint fundraising committees and the Democratic National Committee.

In the third quarter of 2023, the Biden-Harris campaign announced it raised more than $71 million and had nearly $91 million cash on hand. The team raised more than $72 million in the second quarter of last year, with $77 million cash.

The campaign early Monday stressed grassroots fundraising efforts in the fourth quarter and hailed the fundraising haul as a historic achievement.

“This historic haul — proudly powered by strong and growing grassroots enthusiasm—sends a clear message: the Team Biden-Harris coalition knows the stakes of this election and is ready to win this November,” Julie Chávez Rodríguez, Biden-Harris campaign manager, said in a statement announcing the numbers.

“Across our coalition, we are seeing early, sustained support that is helping us scale our growing operation across the country and take our message to the communities that will determine this election,” Chavez added.

The announcement comes hours before the start of the Iowa caucuses and two weeks ahead of the filing deadline for candidates. Most GOP presidential candidates have not released their Q4 fundraising numbers yet.

Republican candidate Nikki Haley announced her fourth quarter fundraising numbers this month, saying she raised $24 million, ending the quarter with $14.5 million on hand.

“While most of the Republicans have not yet announced their fundraising numbers, we fully expect to lap them,” TJ Ducklo, Biden-Harris senior adviser for communications, said on Monday. “Several times.”

The Biden-Harris campaign said 97 percent of donations in the fourth quarter were less than $200, for an average of $41.88. Since the campaign’s launch, aides said, almost 1 million supporters have made contributions, for more than 2.3 million total contributions.

The team also noted that, since the 2020 campaign, one-third of its donors are new.