WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Former U.S. President Donald Trump's election campaign, along with the Republican National Committee, announced on Wednesday that they had raised more than $65.6 million in March, a significant increase from the previous month.
WHY IT MATTERS
Joe Biden's Democratic re-election campaign has consistently outpaced Trump's fundraising efforts leading up to the Nov. 5 election.
The March fundraising figures for Trump and the RNC indicated a surge in donations following the early March exit of Nikki Haley, the last challenger to Trump for the Republican nomination.
Biden's campaign has not yet revealed its fundraising totals for March, but organizers stated that they raised over $25 million in a single high-profile event towards the end of the month.
Following the March fundraising, the Trump campaign and the RNC reported having more than $93.1 million in cash reserves.
In February, Trump's campaign, along with a joint fundraising committee, raised over $20 million, while Biden's re-election effort raised more than $53 million. At the end of February, Biden's campaign had over $155 million in cash reserves.
Trump's upcoming fundraiser on April 6 aims to raise $33 million, according to a source familiar with the Republican's plans. Since 2004, Democratic candidates have consistently raised more money for White House bids than their Republican counterparts.
However, fundraising success does not always translate into electoral victory; Trump defeated Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton in 2016, despite her significantly larger campaign war chest.
Biden and Trump are gearing up for a closely contested election rematch, according to recent opinion polls. The Wall Street Journal's poll released on Wednesday showed Trump leading Biden in six battleground states.