Donations set to soar infographic
Graphic shows U.S. election candidate fundraising.
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U.S. ELECTION

U.S. election donations set to soar

By Phil Bainbridge

September 3, 2024 - The Kamala Harris and Donald Trump campaigns have raised over $1.3 billion so far, and as they enter the final two months of the election – when the biggest donations are made – this looks set to soar.

The Harris campaign raised almost $500 million, 42% of it from small donors giving under $200, dwarfing the Trump campaign’s $264 million. However, the Trump campaign has the backing of over $310 million from donors to super PACS – Political Action Committees – unrestricted by the Federal Election Commission’s $6,600 per person limit to direct campaigns, but which are not allowed to co-ordinate directly with the candidate. Harris’ super-PACs have raised around $258 million.

The biggest donors to these PACs are expected to include Timothy Mellon, reclusive heir to the $14.1bn Mellon family fortune, who supplies over 50% of the funding for the MAGA Inc super PAC, Tesla boss Elon Musk who has said he will spend $45 million per month on his own conservative America PAC. On the Democrat side, Mike Bloomberg is traditionally a major funder but tends to donate late in the campaign - he has so far given $27 million to pro-Democrat PACs - and Reid Hoffman, LinkedIn co-founder.

Sources
PUBLISHED: 03/09/2024; STORY: Graphic News; PICTURES: Getty Images
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