How do you know if a political event is a success in the United States, beyond the self-congratulations of some and the harsh criticism of others? There is rarely one clue that is wrong: follow the level of donations, and you will have a first draft of an answer. Thus, on this level, the Democratic National Convention, organized last week to formalize the candidacy of Kamala Harris, seems to have been a major success in the race for the White House.
Throughout this week in Chicago, where Joe Biden, the Obamas, and running mate Tim Walz took turns on the podium, the Democratic Party reportedly raised nearly $82 million. And just in the wake of Kamala Harris’ highly anticipated speech last Thursday, her campaign reportedly had “the best hour of fundraising since its launch,” wrote her campaign manager, Jen O’Malley Dillon, in a note sent to the American press this Sunday.
The importance of small donors
This week allowed the Democratic camp to surpass the $540 million mark raised since Joe Biden’s withdrawal announcement on July 21, in just over a month. “A record for any campaign in history,” assured Jen O’Malley Dillon, without indicating on what period this assertion was based. For comparison, the 24 hours after Joe Biden’s announcement had also been followed by a significant wave of donations, of nearly $81 million.
Above all, according to the Democratic camp, their national convention would have allowed them to attract an “unprecedented level of popular donations”, with a third of the donations coming from new contributors. Among them, 20% were young voters, and two thirds were women. Audiences that Joe Biden’s moribund campaign had so far failed to galvanize, and on which Kamala Harris is particularly counting in the key states to make the difference against her rival Donald Trump.
A growing economic advantage
This Democratic convention also allowed Kamala Harris to continue to make up for the economic delay accumulated by Joe Biden’s campaign against Donald Trump. Thus, according to the Financial Timesthe month of July had already allowed the Democratic candidate to collect four times more funds than her Republican rival, with nearly 204 million dollars gleaned, against nearly 48 million for the former president. According to the New York Timesthe current American vice-president had a $50 million advantage over Donald Trump at the beginning of August; a gap that could continue to widen thanks to the good momentum born from the Democratic convention in Chicago.
Even if, on the Republican candidate’s side, all is not lost, far from it. At the beginning of August, his campaign team had claimed to still have nearly $327 million at its disposal. The former president can also count on the support of megadonors, like this $50 million contribution from billionaire Timothy Mellon at the end of last June, descendant of a very wealthy banking dynasty and recurring supporter of the Grand Old Party.
Donald Trump could also benefit from the withdrawal of independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in his favor this Friday, which could bring in some donations to his favor. And in an election that could again come down to a few votes in a handful of key states, every dollar will count, especially in terms of massive advertising campaigns.