BY JOSEPH AX
Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and the Democratic National Committee jointly raised $80.8 million in May, the Biden campaign said on Monday, one-third more than they collected in April.
The campaign has tripled its online donors since February and recorded an average online donation of $30. But President Donald Trump, a Republican, still holds a significant fundraising advantage.
Biden and the DNC established a joint fundraising vehicle, the Biden Victory Fund, in May that allows them to collect larger sums from wealthy donors, after raising $60.5 million in April.
Several top fundraisers told Reuters this month that they were seeing a swell of support as the country was gripped by widespread protests over the killing of George Floyd, a black man who died in police custody. The haul comes as Biden has opened up a lead over Trump in most national polls.
The Trump campaign has not yet announced its May figures. In April, Trump and the Republican National Committee jointly brought in $61.7 million, just a shade more than Biden and the Democrats. The committee said it and the Trump campaign raised $14 million on Sunday, Trump’s 74th birthday.
Last week, Trump attended his first in-person fundraiser in months, due to the coronavirus pandemic. Biden, who has only recently begun to travel outside of his home state of Delaware, has continued to hold virtual fundraisers, including one scheduled for Monday evening with U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren.
