Wall Street, Silicon Valley, and Hollywood donors played a pivotal role in boosting Vice President Kamala Harris’ fundraising efforts in August.
The surge has provided the Democrats with a significant financial edge over former President Donald Trump, as they head into the most costly phase of the presidential election, according to a recent report by Fortune.
Harris’ campaign managed to raise an impressive $361 million in August, bringing the Democratic party’s total cash on hand to $404 million.
In contrast, Trump’s campaign raised $130 million during the same period, spending $32 million more than what was brought in due to a costly advertising blitz aimed at countering Harris’ momentum.
Harris Establishes Lead in Financial Race
Trump’s primary super political action committee (PAC), Make America Great Again Inc., also saw its reserves dwindle.
Despite the close polling, Harris has established a clear lead in the financial race.
The Vice President’s fundraising efforts included numerous high-profile events in places like San Francisco and the Hamptons, tapping into California’s deep-pocketed donor base.
Her campaign and allied super PAC, Future Forward PAC, have secured $421 million in paid media for the final months leading to Election Day, nearly doubling the $216 million booked by Trump and MAGA Inc.
The finance industry has been a significant source of support for Harris.
High-profile contributors include Bruce Karsh of Oaktree Capital Management, Robert Stavis from Bessemer Venture Partners, and I Squared Capital’s co-founder Sadek Wahba.
Other notable donors include Janice Savin Williams from Siebert Williams Shanke, legendary oil trader Andy Hall, and E. John Rosenwald, a vice chair at JPMorgan Chase.
Even Hollywood has thrown its weight behind Harris, with celebrities like Scarlett Johansson, Frances McDormand, and Carol Burnett contributing to her campaign.
In addition to traditional fundraising, Harris has seen significant support from Future Forward PAC, which raised $36 million in August, bolstered by $3 million donations from Facebook co-founder Dustin Moskovitz and the Pacific Environmental Coalition, a nonprofit led by venture capitalist Matt Cohler.
Notably, Ripple Labs co-founder Christian Larsen donated $1 million in XRP cryptocurrency, highlighting the growing intersection of digital assets and political financing.
Trump Sees New Sources of Support
On the other side, Donald Trump’s campaign has seen new sources of support, particularly from the crypto industry, a sector he has actively courted.
Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, made his largest reported political contribution to date, giving $289,100 to the National Republican Congressional Committee.
Additionally, Musk has set up a super PAC to back Trump and House Republicans, but details of its donors will not be disclosed until next month.
Longtime Republican donors, including hedge fund manager Paul Singer, who previously stayed away from Trump, have now started contributing.
Marc Andreessen of Andreessen Horowitz, Interactive Brokers Group Chairman Thomas Peterffy, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers owner Edward Glazer were among the prominent donors supporting Trump and the GOP in August.
Other major contributions came from casino moguls Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta and billionaire Diane Hendricks, who gave $10 million to MAGA Inc.
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