Democrat Clinton raised more than $140 million in August: campaign

[September 02, 2016]  By Ginger Gibson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Democrat Hillary Clinton raised about $143 million in August for her presidential bid and the Democratic Party, the her campaign announced on Thursday.

Of the total, about $62 million was raised for the candidate's White House run and about $81 million was raised for the Democratic National Committee and state parties.

Clinton spend most of the month of August working the Democratic fundraising circuit and trying to amass a war chest to use against Republican Donald Trump.

The August hauls included a lucrative two-week swing of high-dollar events in the moneyed East Coast vacation spots of Martha’s Vineyard and the Hamptons, along with star-studded luncheons in Los Angeles and gatherings with high-tech leaders in Silicon Valley.

A three-day, $19 million fundraising trip to California included a stop at the home of former basketball star Magic Johnson, lunch at the home of musician Justin Timberlake and actress Jessica Biel and an afternoon event in Northern California with Apple’s Tim Cook.

Twenty people paid at least $200,000 each to attend a nighttime event at the estate where Laurene Powell Jobs is building a dream home designed by her late husband, Steve Jobs.

Clinton has already saturated the airwaves in key states with television ads, while Trump has spent almost nothing on the general election.

Trump has struggled to raise large sums of cash. Instead, much of his campaign has been self-funded, using his personal wealth to fuel his shoestring primary campaign.

But supporters of Trump have warned that a general election requires more to be spent on expensive television ads and requires outside fundraising.

Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton addresses the National Convention of the American Legion in Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S., August 31, 2016. REUTERS/Bryan Woolston

Trump has not yet released his fundraising totals for the month of August.

Clinton's campaign has already announced plans to spend $77 million in swing state advertising before the Nov. 8 election.

Her campaign said the average donation in March was $50, a signal that she is drawing from small-dollar donors and not just those who write checks worth thousands of dollars.

"Thanks to the 2.3 million people who have contributed to our campaign, we are heading into the final two months of the race with the resources we need to organize and mobilize millions of voters across the country," campaign manager Robby Mook said in a statement.

(Reporting by Alana Wise and Amanda Becker; Editing by Jonathan Oatis)

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