President Joe Biden raised nearly $100 million in the fourth quarter of 2023, his campaign announced Monday, claiming to have more cash on hand than any other Democratic presidential candidate in history as the primary election season begins—despite Biden’s approval ratings falling and concerns from voters about his age.
The Biden campaign raised $97 million in the final three months of 2023, more than the $71 million it took in during the third quarter of the year.
The campaign has $117 million in cash on hand, which is made up of money directly donated to Biden’s campaign and to the Democratic National Committee and state parties.
That marks more than any other Democratic presidential candidate in history has had at this point during the election cycle, according to the campaign, and Bloomberg notes it beats approximately $67 million raised by former President Barack Obama in the fourth quarter of 2011 and Hillary Clinton in the fourth quarter of 2015.
The campaign received donations from more than 520,000 contributors in the fourth quarter of 2023, 97% of which were below $200, the campaign said Monday.
The surge in donations comes as Biden courted more high-profile donors at the end of the year, Reuters reports, with Politico noting Biden’s campaign operation has also been relatively frugal, helping it to amass cash.
How much Trump has raised and if it beats out Biden’s total. Biden’s surge in campaign donations still couldn’t best Trump’s reelection effort in 2020, as the then-president and Republican National Committee took in more than $154 million in the fourth quarter of 2019. Trump still hasn’t released his fourth-quarter fundraising totals yet, which he’s required to report to the Federal Election Commission by Jan. 31, though his last fundraising update showed he had approximately $38 million in cash on hand. Biden does also have an advantage over Trump in that he can focus his funds largely on the general election—as he doesn’t face any major challenges in the primary—while Trump must spend money to prevail over his rivals in the primary election.
It’s still hard to predict at this point how the 2024 general election could shake out, though Trump and Biden are both poised to become their party’s respective nominees. Polling shows the two candidates in a dead heat, with a Reuters/Ipsos poll released Jan. 10 finding each candidate received 35% support from voters, while 30% were undecided or prefer a different candidate. A Gallup poll released Jan. 9 found both men also have relatively equal favorability ratings, with 42% viewing Trump favorably and 41% viewing Biden favorably.
Biden’s fundraising announcement came days after an ABC News/Ipsos poll found the president’s approval rating had fallen to 33%, marking the lowest presidential approval rating since George W. Bush between 2006 and 2008. Americans expressed discontent with how Biden is handling the economy, immigration at the U.S.-Mexico border and the war between Israel and Hamas, and only 28% said he has the “mental sharpness” to serve as president amid concerns about the 81-year-old’s age. That being said, a 57% majority of Democrats still say they’re satisfied with him being the party’s presidential nominee.
Here’s How Much Joe Biden Is Worth (Forbes)
Biden reelection operation raised nearly $100 million last quarter (Politico)
Trump tops his opponents while Biden hits a new low in approval ahead of Iowa caucus: POLL (ABC News)
