WASHINGTON: The presidential campaign of former US President Donald Trump has raised more than $45 million in the third quarter of 2023, easily surpassing his rivals in the 2024 GOP primary, The Hill reported.
Trump’s campaign said in a statement that it has more than $37.5 million cash on hand, with close to $36 million of it designated for use in the primary polls.
The significant haul came during the months of July, August, and September, during which Trump was indicted in Washington, DC, for his attempts to remain in power after losing the 2020 election and indicted in Georgia for his efforts to overturn the election results there.
Prosecutors also brought additional charges in that time frame related to Trump’s retention of classified documents, The Hill reported.
Trump’s campaign sent out fundraising emails after each of his indictments and court appearances, seeing a spike in donations in most cases. Trump also posted a fundraising link on X, (formerly Twitter) after he was booked in Georgia, the first time he had posted on the platform since 2021.
“The [third quarter] numbers are even more impressive considering the Summer months are usually when most campaigns experience lagging fundraising support. President Trump and his campaign have completely shattered that notion,” The Hill quoted a statement from Trump’s campaign.
Notably, this fundraising amount is the latest sign of Trump’s commanding lead in the primary, as per The Hill.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis — who is running in second place behind Trump in most national polls but has slipped to third place in some recent state-level polls — has raised $15 million during the third quarter, though only $5 million of that can be used during the primary because of contribution limits.
Meanwhile, other 2024 GOP candidates are yet to announce their third-quarter fundraising totals.
A slew of national polls conducted in September showed Trump leading by at least 30 percentage points in most cases over his next nearest competitor in the primary field.
A Suffolk University/Boston Globe/USA TODAY survey of New Hampshire primary voters released Wednesday morning showed Trump polling at 49 percent, with former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley running in second at 19 percent. (ANI)