Harris Raises Twice as Much as Trump... Trump’s Presidential Funding Comes from Billionaires

Harris Raised $971 Million in Q3
Trump Raised $417 Million
Harris Relies on Small Donors, Trump on Billionaires

With the U.S. presidential election just 15 days away unfolding in a razor-thin race, Democratic candidate Vice President Kamala Harris has reportedly raised nearly $1 billion (approximately 1.38 trillion KRW) in campaign funds in the third quarter alone. This amount is double what Republican candidate former President Donald Trump has raised. In terms of fundraising, Vice President Harris relied heavily on small donors, while former President Trump’s contributions came largely from billionaire donors.

According to local media on the 21st (local time), the Harris campaign disclosed in documents submitted to the U.S. Federal Election Commission (FEC) that it raised $971 million (approximately 1.34 trillion KRW) from July to September this year.

The Trump campaign raised $417 million (approximately 580 billion KRW) during the same period, less than half of what the Harris campaign brought in.

Vice President Harris spent a massive $826 million (approximately 1.14 trillion KRW) on campaign expenses in the third quarter alone. Former President Trump spent only $340 million (approximately 470 billion KRW) during the same period.

Looking at the donors for each candidate, Vice President Harris had a high proportion of small donors, whereas former President Trump’s contributions were dominated by billionaires.

Since the beginning of this year, former President Trump has raised $514.7 million (approximately 710 billion KRW) from high-dollar donors who contributed $1 million (approximately 1.38 billion KRW) or more per person. Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Mellon Bank heir Timothy Mellon, co-founder of U.S. casino company Las Vegas Sands Miriam Adelson, and shipping magnate Richard Uihlein were among Trump’s major financial backers. These four individuals alone donated $395 million (approximately 550 billion KRW) to super PACs supporting Trump. In contrast, Trump raised only $260 million (approximately 360 billion KRW) from small donors contributing less than $200 (approximately 270,000 KRW) per person.

For Vice President Harris, as of the third quarter, donations from contributors giving less than $200 per person accounted for about one-third of her total fundraising, indicating a strong reliance on small donors.

With the U.S. presidential election just two weeks away, Vice President Harris and former President Trump are locked in an extremely close race. According to USA Today on the same day, Harris held 45% support while Trump had 44%, with only a 1 percentage point gap between the two candidates. This gap has narrowed since the August poll, when Harris and Trump recorded 48% and 43% support, respectively.