Harris funds advertising as Elon Musk cuts check to Republicans

(CNN) — Kamala Harris entered September – and the closing weeks of the presidential campaign – with significantly more available campaign cash than Donald Trump, new federal filings show, after setting a grassroots fundraising record during her first full month as the Democratic presidential nominee.

Fundraising by the national Democratic committees focused on the battle for Congress also surged – with the party arm working to turn the US House blue collecting more than double the amount raised by its Republican counterpart in August. The House GOP campaign arm, however, reported a six-figure donation from billionaire Elon Musk last month as the party seeks to defend its razor-thin majority in the chamber.

And with Democrats riding a wave of donor enthusiasm, the latest filings with the Federal Election Commission also showed some key outside groups ramping up their activity, while a leading pro-Trump super PAC unleashed a massive wave of independent expenditures to help Republicans close the gap.

Harris’ surge

Harris has fully erased the financial edge that Trump momentarily gained over the summer when the former president outraised President Joe Biden in two of the final three months before Biden withdrew from the race in late July. The vice president took in nearly $190 million directly to her campaign in August – more than quadrupling the $44.5 million that the Trump campaign said flowed to its principal campaign account that month.

The Harris campaign also dramatically outspent the Trump campaign in August, burning through about $174 million. It plowed most of that into advertising – $135 million – as it raced to introduce Democrats’ newly minted nominee to voters on an abbreviated schedule. Some $6.4 million went toward payroll expenses and $4.5 million to text-messaging outreach.

By comparison, Trump’s campaign spent just $61 million last month, with the lion’s share – more than $47 million – going toward media buys.

Despite the spending spree, Harris’ main campaign account entered September with $235 million in available cash, far surpassing the $135 million remaining in Trump’s coffers, the latest FEC records show.

The late Friday night filings offer just one snapshot of candidates’ financial strengths.

The Trump and Harris campaigns are aligned with an array of committees that file disclosure reports on a separate schedule. Harris’ broader network announced it had raised a combined total of $361 million in August, nearly triple the $130 million Trump’s operation said it brought in.

Harris’ fundraising dominance has helped give Democrats a significant edge in advertising bookings this fall, including in key battleground states. And the vice president and her allies are overwhelming the former president’s presence on social media. Democrats have spent $137 million across digital platforms since Harris effectively became the party’s standard-bearer in late July – more than triple Republicans’ spending, a CNN analysis of data compiled by the ad-tracking firm AdImpact shows.

Party power

Friday’s campaign reports show that the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee – the party arm engaged in House races – significantly outraised its GOP counterpart, the National Republican Campaign Committee, $22.3 million to $9.7 million.

The DCCC also entered September with more cash on hand, $87.3 million to $70.8 million for the NRCC, funds that could be pivotal in a highly competitive battle for the House, where Republicans are defending a narrow majority.

One of the notable donors seeking to help House Republicans stem the Democratic tide of cash: billionaire Elon Musk, who records show gave the House GOP campaign arm $289,100 in August, the largest federal donation disclosed by Musk so far this cycle as he steps up his Republican giving.

The tech magnate – the world’s richest person – endorsed Trump in July. And in another indication of his growing political influence, a super PAC Musk helped form recently ramped up its activity in the presidential contest, spending more than $40 million since mid-August. That includes more than $22 million on canvassing efforts on Trump’s behalf, helping to fill in a critical role. The Trump campaign, as CNN has previously reported, has opted to outsource much of its ground game operation to outside organizations.

Party committees focused on Senate races raised comparable amounts last month.

The National Republican Senatorial Committee brought in $19.1 million and its Democratic counterpart, $19.2 million. Each spent more than it raised, with the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee spending $31.6 million and the NRSC, $26.5 million.

Democrats narrowly control the chamber but face an unfavorable landscape this year as they defend several seats in states that have previously backed Trump.

Outside groups

Harris’ fundraising prowess has put pressure on a network of outside groups supporting the former president to help close the money gap.

MAGA Inc., a leading pro-Trump super PAC, spent more than $88 million in August alone on independent expenditures on behalf of the former president’s campaign, funding a blitz of TV advertising, according to its monthly filing. That’s more than MAGA Inc. has spent in any month this year and roughly twice as much as it spent in July.

The super PAC received a total of $25 million last month from a range of wealthy supporters, including $10 million from Wisconsin roofing billionaire Diane Hendricks and $5 million from billionaire financier Paul Singer. It ended August with $59.4 million in cash on hand.

On the Democratic side, FF PAC, a leading pro-Harris super PAC, reported raising nearly $37 million last month, with a massive $30 million coming from Facebook co-founder and billionaire investor Dustin Moskovitz – by far his largest federal donation of the election cycle. The super PAC spent more than $77 million in August, including nearly $62 million on independent expenditures to benefit the vice president’s campaign.