Donald Trump and RNC raised $51 million in June
Presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump and the Republican National Committee raised $51 million in June, a big improvement for a candidate who just recently began fundraising for his campaign in earnest.
Trump raised $26 million for his own campaign, his team announced, with an additional $25 million raised jointly with the RNC at 22 separate fundraising events around the country. According to the campaign, 400,000 people donated, and 94 percent of those donations were for less than $200.
In addition to the $51 million raised, Trump contributed $3.8 million of his own money to the campaign. His campaign did not announce how much money it currently has on hand, or how much it spent during the month of June.
Trump's $51 million haul is a big improvement over his past fundraising, which was nearly nonexistent: at the end of May, for example, he raised barely more than $3 million and had just $1.3 million on hand. It was only in late May that Trump began holding and attending fundraisers, and he sent out his first email fundraising appeal in late June.
The figure will help quiet concerns within the GOP about Trump's inability to raise the kind of money he needs to compete this fall--and suggests Trump, who has benefited from support within the Republican grassroots, can tap into that supporter base to effectively raise cash.
But it's still considerably less than the $68.5 million Hillary Clinton raised with the Democratic National Committee in June, including $40.5 million that was raised specifically for her campaign.
And compared with his party's standard-bearer four years ago, Trump isn't yet measuring up: in June of 2012, GOP nominee Mitt Romney raised $106 million with the RNC, finishing the month with $160 million on hand for his campaign.
That said, it's worth noting that Trump is also likely spending at a far slower clip than either Clinton or Romney: he's run virtually no TV ads lately, and has a much smaller (and presumably less expensive) campaign operation than other recent party nominees at this point in the race. It won't be clear exactly what Trump's burn rate is until his full report is filed with the Federal Election Commission.
The GOP pol teased the big fundraising announcement in a tweet Tuesday night, saying there would "be a big gasp" when people saw the numbers:
Raised a lot of money for the Republican Party. There will be a big gasp when the figures are announced in the morning. Lots of support! Win
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 6, 2016