Pro-Trump groups outspend pro-Biden groups so far in US presidential race

Nevin Al Sukari - Sana'a - Pro-Trump spending groups have spent more than US$25 million since Trump clinched the Republican nomination on March 6, Federal Election Commission records show, compared to more than US$15 million spent by Biden’s allies during the same time. — Reuters pic

WASHINGTON, June 18 — Outside groups supporting Donald Trump’s presidential bid have spent significantly more money in recent months than groups that are working to re-elect Democratic President Joe Biden, according to a Reuters analysis of campaign finance records.

Pro-Trump spending groups have spent more than US$25 million since Trump clinched the Republican nomination on March 6, Federal Election Commission records show, compared to more than US$15 million spent by Biden’s allies during the same time.

MAGA Inc., the largest pro-Trump super PAC, will report on Thursday that it had US$93.7 million in the bank at the end of May, up from US$33 million at the end of April, according to a senior official with MAGA Inc. who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Both sides have put most of their recent spending into television attack ads, as they try to sway the small slice of US voters who will determine the outcome of the Nov. 5 election.

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Trump allies say the spending blitz aims to counter Biden’s early fundraising advantage. Biden’s campaign reported US$84 million in the bank at the end of April, compared to US$49 million reported by Trump.

“There’s an effort to strategically weaken Biden’s cash advantage,” said a source familiar with MAGA Inc., who also spoke on condition of anonymity.

Trump’s fundraising deficit has been compounded by courtroom battles that have driven up his legal bills and made him the first US president to be convicted of felony crimes.

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Biden, 81, and Trump, 78, are neck-and-neck in national public opinion polls, though Trump has a slight advantage in the battleground states that could determine the winner of the election.

Both campaigns, which declined to comment, are due to report updated campaign finance figures on Thursday.

Unlike political campaigns, super PACs face no limits on fundraising, but they are not allowed to coordinate their ad purchases with the candidates they support. They must report spending shortly after it happens.

MAGA Inc. spent roughly US$18 million to help Trump’s campaign, largely on a barrage of television and digital ads that have attacked Biden’s immigration policies and have argued that he is too old to serve a second term.

By contrast, Future Forward, the biggest super PAC backing Biden, has reported new expenditures to the FEC since March 6 that total less than US$1 million, even though it held US$57 million in the bank at the end of April.

A senior Democrat with ties to the group, speaking on condition of anonymity, said it would spend heavily in the final months of the election, as it did in the 2020 contest when Biden defeated Trump.

Another Democratic super PAC, American Bridge 21st Century, has spent more than US$11 million so far.

Pat Dennis, the group’s president, said it was narrowly focused on women voters by running ads about issues including abortion rights in the battleground states of Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

“We are really focused on the summer and setting the stage for the folks who take over in the fall,” he said. — Reuters