WASHINGTON — Hillary Clinton’s skill and experience in raising money have provided her with a dominant financial lead over her Democratic and Republican rivals, according to the latest Federal Election Commission reports.
Filings for the month of April show that Clinton and her remaining competitor for the Democratic Party nomination, Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, raised about the same amount of money, each reporting receipts topping $26 million. But Sanders was spending money at a far greater rate and had just $5.8 million on hand at the end of the month, compared with Clinton’s reported cash on hand of $30 million.
Meanwhile, the reports laid bare the challenge facing Donald Trump, who is now focused on the general election. Clinton has far outpaced Trump in spending to build a campaign infrastructure and in building financial reserves for the long race to Election Day in November. Each campaign is expected to spend $1 billion or more in their quest to win the White House.
Running as a self-funded candidate not beholden to traditional donors, Trump has so far raised and spent less than many of his Republican opponents and far less than Clinton. All told, Trump and his supporters have raised about $59.4 million so far, compared with Clinton’s total of nearly $300 million. Most of Trump’s money has come from loans he made to the campaign, totaling $43.4 million, including $7.5 million in April alone. Clinton and Sanders have each spent close to $200 million, compared with $56.5 million by Trump.
Clinton’s contribution total includes $81.4 million raised by independent groups supporting her candidacy, with most of the money coming from one super PAC, Priorities USA Action.
Since becoming the presumptive nominee during the first week in May, Trump has rushed to assemble a more traditional campaign organization. He is now seeking the sort of high-dollar donors that he once rejected because they would sully the image he has promoted as a politician who cannot be bought.
Last week, for example, his campaign announced a new joint fundraising venture with the Republican National Committee, which can raise as much as $449,400 from a single individual. It is similar to one Clinton established months ago, the Hillary Victory Fund.
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