Trump’s Giant Lead Is Financial, Too: 6 Takeaways From 2024 Filings

Ron DeSantis has spent heavily and Nikki Haley has padded her war chest. On the Democratic side, President Biden continues to show overall strength, and the party’s incumbent senators fared

Donald Trump is doing really well with money for the next presidential election. He's got a lot more cash saved up than all the other Republican candidates combined. This shows he's in a strong position as the race gets closer to important events like the Iowa caucuses.

Having a lot of money saved up is crucial for the campaigns at this point. The next three months are going to be costly. The candidates need to make a good impression in the first states where voters have their say, like Iowa and New Hampshire. To do that, they need to travel, run ads, and hold events.

One big thing we learned from the financial reports filed by the campaigns is that Governor Ron DeSantis is spending a lot. He used up almost all the money he raised in the third quarter. Even after reducing his campaign staff and trying to raise more money, he still ended up with unpaid bills in October, and his remaining cash wasn't much more than former Governor Chris Christie's.

There are also signs that former Vice President Mike Pence and Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina are running low on money. Pence's campaign only had $1.2 million in cash at the end of the third quarter, and they also had debts. Senator Scott spent more than he raised, dipping into the large amount of money he had at the start of his campaign.

But on the Democratic side, President Biden is doing well. He's raising a lot of money, even in the third quarter, which is usually slower for fundraising. He's also getting more small donations, which is a good sign because it means people are excited about his campaign.

Some candidates like Nikki Haley and Chris Christie have managed to raise more money and save it up for the upcoming battles. For example, Christie raised $3.8 million in the third quarter, almost double what he raised in the previous one.

Overall, Trump seems to have a financial advantage, but the full extent of his resources is not entirely clear. DeSantis and Scott are spending a lot, and some other candidates are doing better with their fundraising. Biden remains financially strong, and Democrats have an edge in many Senate battlegrounds.

The financial reports we've seen are just part of the picture. Super PACs, which can raise and spend unlimited amounts of money, and joint fundraising committees, which several candidates use to raise funds, have not yet filed their reports. So, there's more to the story that we'll learn in the future.