Trump's war chest one of smallest in
recent presidential campaigns
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[October 21, 2016]
By Ginger Gibson and Grant Smith
WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Republican
Donald Trump could go down as the least well-funded presidential
candidate in recent campaigns - entering the final month of the election
still without the cash to match the level of staff and advertising that
has helped power the campaign of his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton.
With less than three weeks until the election, it is too late for Trump
to amass the amount of cash he would need to unleash a spending assault
that might turn his hobbled campaign around. Through the end of
September, Trump raised a total of $163 million - a far cry from
Clinton’s $449 million.
Trump, a New York real estate developer who has boasted about his
wealth, pledged to use millions of his personal assets to fund his
campaign. In addition to the $163 million raised, he put in $47.5
million during the primary and then added another $8.6 million.
Trump’s fundraising deficit has resulted from a series of campaign
crises that made wealthy donors reluctant to contribute to his campaign
and reflects that he does not enjoy working the fundraising circuit or
calling large-dollar donors to ask them to write checks.
That’s a big disadvantage for Trump. And it shows in how he has been
outspent trying to win the Nov. 8 election for the White House,
particularly in the two largest spending categories: staff and
television commercials.
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When it comes to staff, Trump has spent $5 million, compared with
Clinton's spending of about $38 million.
Trump had 168 people on his payroll in September, more than doubling the
82 he had on staff in July. Additionally, Trump spent $5 million on
field consultants, part-time workers who are not part of the main staff.
Clinton had 815 people on her staff in September.
On advertising, Trump has spent $48.7 million while Clinton has spent
$204 million - allowing her to blanket the airwaves with a deluge of
advertisements.
It has also allowed Clinton to inject more money into states that have
become closer as Election Day nears. Earlier this week, Clinton’s
campaign announced it was spending an additional $2 million in Arizona,
a late-game decision to try to win a traditionally Republican state that
now appears within her grasp.
Overall, Trump has spent about $190 million by the end of September,
compared with Clinton's $401 million.
Trump and Clinton can collect donations up to $5,400 from a single
individual, but can also collect larger checks that are then divided
between the campaign and joint fundraisers with the national and state
parties.
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Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump holds a campaign rally
in Delaware, Ohio, U.S. October 20, 2016. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
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The funds that candidates raise for the national and state political
parties are still used for the common effort of hiring staff and
getting voters to turn out to the polls. But those funds cannot be
used in the most direct parts of running a campaign, like buying
television ads or hiring staff that report to the campaign manager.
Trump’s campaign struggled to get organized and build out the
infrastructure that is needed to be competitive in the key
battleground states. Instead, Trump has been dependent on the
infrastructure built by the Republican Party.
Trump has raised $244 million through joint fundraising committees
with the national parties, of which he got $71 million.
By comparison, Clinton has raised $415 million through joint
fundraisers, of which $117 million went to her campaign.
Since 2008, major party presidential candidates have stopped
accepting public funding for their general election campaigns -
which placed limits on the amount a candidate could raise and spend.
But even the last candidate to accept public funds, Senator John
McCain in 2008, raised more that year than Trump did this election.
McCain raised more than $300 million. That same year, Barack Obama,
in his first presidential race, raised $607 million.
In 2012, Mitt Romney raised more than $337 million at this point in
the campaign. And Obama had raised $564 million.
(Reporting by Ginger Gibson in Washington and Grant Smith in New
York; Editing by Leslie Adler)
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