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Former President Donald Trump has a big lead over Republican rival Ron DeSantis in polls for their party’s 2024 presidential primary, but disclosures this week show DeSantis has an advantage over the frontrunner with his cash pile.
A super PAC that supports DeSantis, Never Back Down, on Monday reported $96.80 million in cash on hand as of June 30, after his principal campaign committee revealed $12.24 million in cash on hand in an earlier disclosure.
Trump’s super PAC, Make America Great Again Inc., reported $30.82 million in cash on hand as of June 30, after his main campaign committee disclosed a cash pile of $22.52 million.
The chart below shows how DeSantis has an edge over Trump in the money race, as well as over four other GOP contenders who get support of 3% or more in a RealClearPolitics moving average of polls.
Looking at the cash on hand for a candidate’s principal campaign committee as well as the main affiliated super PAC gives a sense of a 2024 presidential hopeful’s financial resources, though other groups also are raising money and spending it — such as leadership PACs, joint fundraising committees and other super PACs.
In Trump’s case, his Save America leadership PAC on Monday disclosed just $3.65 million in cash on hand, while his Trump Save America Joint Fundraising Committee reported a cash pile of $5.66 million. That came after news that Save America has spent $40.2 million on legal fees in the first half of this year, as Trump and his allies deal with a hush-money case in New York, a classified-documents case in Florida and election-interference cases in Georgia and Washington, D.C.
DeSantis also has hit trouble. Reports last week revealed that he has cut a third of his presidential campaign staff, or 38 people, as he mounts a reset after continually coming in a distant second in most recent polls.
The chart below shows Trump’s huge edge in the RealClearPolitics moving average of surveys.
RealClearPolitics
A super PAC is a political action committee that isn’t supposed to contribute directly to a candidate or coordinate with him or her, though watchdogs have found that such organizations often have worked in tandem with candidates.
Campaign Legal Center, a watchdog group, filed a complaint in May with the Federal Election Commission alleging that DeSantis and his state PAC violated laws prohibiting the use of “soft money” — meaning money that isn’t subject to federal limits and reporting requirements — in federal elections by transferring over $80 million to Never Back Down, the super PAC.
CLC also filed a complaint in May alleging that Trump and Save America violated the prohibition on spending or transferring “soft money” in connection with a federal election when Save America contributed a total of $60 million to Make America Great Again, the super PAC.
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