Key takeaways from the latest presidential campaign finance reports

While there’s still no full picture of how the donations have been divided among Trump’s political committees — as reports aren’t due until later this month — an aide to Trump said the average donation for his 2024 campaign was $34, which has been cited as evidence of his grassroots support.

About 14.5 percent of the money DeSantis raised in the second quarter — $2.8 million — came from unaccounted donations of $200 or less, according to its report. DeSantis’ backing from big donors has been a hallmark of his Florida campaigns and a key selling point for his candidacy as he seeks to portray himself as the strongest alternative to Trump. In addition to the $20 million DeSantis raised in the six weeks after his official announcement — an impressive opening total — the Super PAC that supports him said it has raised $130 million to support his efforts support. At the end of the quarter, he had more than $12 million in cash on hand.

Other competitors appear to be more successful in reaching out to small backers, even if the amounts they’re raising are far smaller than DeSantis’s. More than 20 percent of the donations received by Senator Tim Scott (RS.C.) and nearly 30 percent of the donations received by former Vice President Mike Pence were from donors who gave $200 or less. And more than a third of donations to former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a key Trump critic, came from small donors whose contributions weren’t included in the reports.

Small-dollar donors are considered an indicator of the level of support for a candidate among ordinary voters, and a signal of how long supporters can donate compared to those who write big checks and donate quickly to the legal limit.

About $13.8 million of the $20 million raised by the Florida governor came from supporters who donated the maximum amount of $3,300 in the first phase of the campaign, meaning DeSantis was at cannot return to them in his quest to beat Trump and advance to the general election. Some of these donors also donated the maximum amount allowed for the general election phase of the campaign.

Trump and Biden rely on more than one vehicle

The top two candidates in their respective party nominations rely on multiple means to raise funds.

Trump’s advisers said he raised $35 million through his joint fundraising committee, which splits donations between his campaign team and his leadership’s political action committee, but the report detailing contributions to his joint fundraising committee was out on Saturday night not yet available.

His campaign report was and showed that the campaign raised $17.7 million, including about $15.2 million from the joint fundraising committee. Disclosures regarding the spending of his lead PAC and his supporting Super PAC are not due until later this month.

President Biden raised more than $72 million for his re-election in the second quarter, and his campaign said the vast majority of donations were less than $200. He was able to raise this larger sum because individuals can donate up to $929,600 to the Biden Victory Fund, which includes the campaign, the Democratic National Committee and state parties — while individual political campaign donations are capped at $6,600.

Hunt for funders: Pence seems in danger of missing the debate stage

Trump, DeSantis, Scott, Christie, Nikki Haley and Vivek Ramaswamy campaigns have all indicated that they have more than 40,000 individual donors to their campaigns. That’s the Republican National Committee threshold that any candidate must meet to qualify for the first debate in Milwaukee. However, reports filed with the Federal Election Commission on Saturday do not yet provide a full picture of how many individual donors there are for each campaign, as the FEC only requires campaigns to declare donations over $200.

Still, the new revelations suggest candidates like Pence and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson are struggling to meet a pace of donations that would take them to the 40,000 donor threshold. (The RNC will also require debate participants, among other criteria, to have at least 200 donors per state or territory in more than 20 states or territories to get on the stage.)

Pence has raised less than $1.2 million in the three weeks between his announcement and the end of June. His advisors believe his fundraising strength could become more apparent later this year as he targets many of his pocket change donors through direct mail – a more time-consuming and labor-intensive process.

The full picture of how many unique donors each campaign has might become clearer at the end of the month when the FEC report is due for WinRed, a key fundraising platform for GOP committees and campaigns that makes giving easier for Republican donors in small quantities.

Spending and cash storage at the beginning of the third quarter

The reports provide an overview of the pace of spending and the resources candidates will have at their disposal if they want to make their mark ahead of the first debate and beyond. Trump reported $22.5 million in cash at the end of the second quarter, compared to $12.2 million for DeSantis. Scott, who was able to wire millions from his Senate committee to his presidential committee, has about $21.1 million in cash on hand. Pence has $1 million.

Haley runs leaner operations than some of her competitors, conserves resources, and ends the quarter with $6.8 million in cash.

Payroll was one of the most important items for DeSantis — its second-quarter report listed about 90 employees. Trump’s report showed about 40 and Scott reported about 50.

The more than $15.6 million that DeSantis-affiliated group Never Back Down is spending on ad buying and the nearly $12 million that Scott’s campaign and supporting super PAC, Trust in the Mission PAC, spend, have not changed the ousting of Trump’s dominance in the race. According to an analysis by AdImpact, MAGA Inc., the super PAC supporting Trump, has spent around $19.9 million on advertising since the beginning of this year.

Another contender who has poured money into advertising is North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, who has spent $5.78 million on ads to build his notoriety. Burgum reported that he raised more than $11.7 million for his campaign, but nearly $10.2 million came from loans either received or guaranteed by the candidate. The North Dakota governor ended the quarter with about $3.6 million in cash on hand.