TIL Desk/World/Washington/ US President Donald Trump’s re-election campaign has raised more than $30 million in the first fundraising quarter of 2019, a top official has confirmed. Trump’s re-election effort now has a substantial $40.8 million remaining in the bank, Tim Murtaugh, the campaign’s director of communications, told on Sunday.
While Trump builds a massive war chest, 18 Democrats — with more considering bids — are competing for their party’s nomination. Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders leads Democratic fundraising with $18.2 million raised during a shorter window than Trump, 41 days. In the second fundraising slot is California Senator Kamala Harris with $12 million.
Sanders, making his second bid for the presidency, has the biggest war chest of the Democratic field, ending March with $28 million remaining in the bank. The 10 Democrats who have announced first-quarter fundraising numbers so far have collected a combined $79.6 million — already surpassing the $65.6 million the entire Democratic presidential field had collected during the early months of the 2016 election cycle.
