Biden Campaign’s 3Q ‘Cash on Hand’ Less Than Half of Top Tier Rivals; Trump Has More Cash Than All 2020 Candidates Combined

Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden speaks at a campaign event Friday, Sept. 27, 2019, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

The Biden campaign’s supply of “cash on hand” at the end of the third quarter stood at just under $9 million according to a report in today’s Wall Street Journal. That compares to almost $34 million for Sen. Bernie Sanders, $25.7 million for Sen. Elizabeth Warren and $23.4 million for South Bend, IN mayor Pete Buttigieg. Even Sen. Kamala Harris had $10.5 million in cash on hand.

What, if anything, does this mean for the Biden campaign going forward? Are donors sensing that his candidacy may be irreparably damaged by Biden’s March 2016 threat to withhold $1 billion in U.S. aid unless Ukraine fired the Prosecutor General who was about to investigate his son. Maybe that, on top of all the questions about his mental acuity which surfaced over the summer, have supporters doubting his viability.

The Journal reported that Biden’s campaign raised $15.7 million and spent $17.7 million during the quarter, making it the only campaign in the top four to have spent more than they’d raised. Payroll accounted for $9 million for the period.

Senior advisor to Biden’s campaign, Symone Sanders told the Journal they believe “the primary election will be a dogfight that will continue well after the first few states have voted…This isn’t something that’s going to be over in Iowa or New Hampshire.”

According to the report, most of Sanders’ and Warren’s contributions have come from small donors. Conversely, many of Biden’s donors have contributed the maximum legal amount.

The report also showed that six of the lower tier candidates had less than $1 million in cash on hand on September 30.

Ohio Rep. Tim Ryan had about $158,000 left in the bank, and former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro —who was on the debate stage Tuesday—had less than $700,000 in available cash. Mr. Castro has said he would drop out of the race if he isn’t in the debate next month, and he hasn’t yet qualified for it.

Author Marianne Williamson, who missed qualifying for Tuesday’s debate, was down to about $725,000.

Montana Gov. Steve Bullock had less than $1.4 million in the bank—a smaller amount than even New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, who quit the presidential race in late August.

Although Biden remains ahead in some polls, Elizabeth Warren appears to be eclipsing him. Some are even calling her the new frontrunner. She certainly has momentum behind her. And she had a strong performance in last night’s Democratic debate in Ohio.

In the meantime, Matt Wolking, The Deputy Director of Communications for the Trump campaign announced that Trump/RNC had a whopping $158 million in cash on hand at the end of the quarter. On Tuesday, Wolking tweeted that “the Trump campaign, authorized joint fundraising committees, and the Republican National Committee (RNC) will report $158 million combined in cash on hand at the end of Q3.” That’s more than the total amount collected by all of the 2020 Democrats.

BREAKING: The Trump campaign, authorized joint fundraising committees, and the Republican National Committee (RNC) will report $158 million combined in cash on hand at the end of Q3. pic.twitter.com/BJJfRLyPHD

— Matt Wolking (Text TRUMP to 88022) (@MattWolking) October 15, 2019

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