While Kamala Harris e Donald Trump They compete vote by vote for the preference of the United States electorate, in another arena the Democratic candidate wins the Republican by some margin: in fundraising for the campaign.
The North American press indicated, this Wednesday 9, that Kamala’s campaign managed to more than 1 billion dollars since she assumed the front line of the Democratic Party, after the withdrawal of the president Joe Biden.
According to the newspaper The New York Timesnever has a candidate raised so much money in such a short time. Biden announced his departure from the race on July 21, passing the baton to Kamala. A month later, almost five thousand Democratic delegates nominated the vice president as their official candidate for the White House.
Also according to the publication, the amount raised by Kamala already exceeds the total resources injected into Trump’s campaign throughout 2024.
Historically, presidential campaigns in the United States tend to get more money as elections get closer. In Kamala’s case, the pace of fundraising since before her nomination draws attention.
In July, for example, the Democratic Party announced that it had raised 310 million dollars for the campaign, but most of this amount – 200 million – entered the cash register in the week following the announcement of Biden’s withdrawal.
The confirmation of Kamala’s deputy, Tim Walz, was another notable fact. In the 24 hours following the announcement, the acronym it received 36 million dollars for the campaign.
Another notable episode was the debate between Kamala and Trump, held by the network CNN on September 10th. The day after the debate, in which the Democrat came out winnercaused another 47 million dollars were donated to the campaign.
Sky-high costs
Both Democrats and Republicans know that donations of resources are important for one basic reason: the US election campaign is the most expensive in the world.
According to data from the Center for Responsive Politics, a non-profit organization that monitors the issue, the 2020 US elections had an estimated cost of 14 billion dollars – almost 80 billion reais, according to the exchange rate at the time.
The amount involves not only spending on the presidential contest, but what is invested in elections for the Chamber, Senate and other positions. In the calculation, the share required in the race for the White House is significant: according to the organization, there were 4 billion dollars in presidential campaigns alone.
Under North American law, candidates can receive direct donations from individuals and companies, although there is a donation limit.
