Pandemic takes toll on campaign fundraising in March

Campaign fundraising slowed in March as the coronavirus pandemic forced millions of Americans out of work and ground traditional campaign activities to a halt.

After raking in $33 million in the first half of March, former Vice President Joe Biden’s fundraising slowed to less than half of that — about $13.7 million — in the second part of the month.

The Trump campaign and the Republican National Committee (RNC) brought in about $63 million over the course of the month, down from more than $86 million in February.

And for outside groups like Senate Majority PAC, the super PAC aligned with Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), March was the worst fundraising month so far this year. The group raised $7.4 million compared with $15.8 million in February and $12.1 million in January.

With the coronavirus outbreak still in full swing in the United States, the campaigns may not fare much better in April — a reality Biden acknowledged in a fundraising email sent to supporters late Monday night.

“I know that April may not match March in fundraising, and that’s okay by me,” he wrote. “The world has changed a great deal. It’s unrecognizable at times. Your family and your community need your generosity and strength now more than ever.”

Biden still set a personal best for his campaign in March, raising a total of $46.7 million during a month in which he racked up key wins against chief rival Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who exited the race this month.

And President Trump’s massive political network, including his campaign, the RNC and affiliated groups, raked in a staggering $212 million over the course of the first quarter of 2020.

Meanwhile, ActBlue, the Democratic online fundraising clearinghouse, saw its largest-ever quarter for small-dollar donors in the first three months of the year. In total, donors gave some $533 million to candidates and causes through the platform, the group announced on Monday.

But there are still signs of a slowdown. While ActBlue set a record for the number of contributions it received in the first quarter of 2020 — about 17.5 million — it saw a roughly 24 percent decrease in contributions in March after notching roughly 7.3 million in February. In total, the platform raised nearly $50 million less in March than it did a month earlier — about $176 million compared with $224 million.

Trump Victory, one of the groups affiliated with the president’s reelection campaign, raked in about $10 million less in March than it did in February.

The slower fundraising pace is somewhat predictable, said Jon Reinish, a Democratic strategist. As the coronavirus has spread, businesses across the country have shuttered and millions of Americans have found themselves out of work and in shakier financial situations.

At the same time, candidates have been forced to cancel the in-person fundraisers and rallies that they have traditionally used to gin up support, both politically and financially.

“No matter what the enthusiasm level is — and I think it’s sky high — this is a really tough environment to raise money in,” Reinish said. “It’s just a lot harder to do when people are trying to navigate a whole new way of carrying out their day to day existence.”

The recent economic turbulence may have a particularly profound impact on small-dollar donors, Reinish added, especially those who work in the service industry, hospitality and other sectors that were among the hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic.

“Any falloff is to be expected when your donors at the grassroots level are the ones losing jobs,” he said.

The money race hasn’t completely ground to a halt. Biden still holds virtual fundraisers relatively regularly, and he’s poised to step up the pace of that schedule in the coming weeks.

And ActBlue saw a spike in donations to nonprofit organizations in March, with average daily giving to those groups quadrupling between the first and second halves of the month. In total, the group said that donors had given nearly $13 million through the platform for organizations helping with relief efforts amid the pandemic.

At the same time, wealthy donors have continued to pour money into the political sphere. George Soros, the billionaire Democratic mega-donor, doled out several million dollars to voter engagement groups and initiatives in the final weeks of March. And former New York City Michael Bloomberg, who ended his billion-dollar bid for the Democratic presidential nomination last month, transferred $18 million in leftover campaign funds to the Democratic National Committee.

“It’s undeniable that there are certain people who can keep a financial commitment up or follow through on one in a period of vast disruption and uncertainty,” Reinish said.