Trump campaign, RNC triple fundraising in March to $65.6 million

By Kanishka Singh

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The election campaign of former U.S. President Donald Trump and the Republican National Committee said on Wednesday they raised over $65.6 million in March, more than three times the amount raised in February.

WHY IT IS IMPORTANT

Democrat Joe Biden's re-election campaign has routinely surpassed Trump's in fundraising ahead of the Nov. 5 election.

The March figures released by Trump and the RNC showed a rise in Trump's fundraising after his last rival for the Republican nomination, former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, dropped out of the presidential race early in that month.

Biden's campaign has not yet disclosed its fundraising figures for March, but organizers said they raised over $25 million in a single high-profile event in late March.

BY THE NUMBERS

With March's fundraising, the Trump campaign and RNC said they ended the month with over $93.1 million cash on hand.

Trump's campaign, together with a joint fundraising committee, pulled in over $20 million in February compared with more than $53 million raised by Biden's re-election effort that month. Biden's campaign had over $155 million in cash on hand at the end of February.

Trump aims to raise $33 million in an April 6 fundraiser, a source familiar with the Republican's plans said last month.

CONTEXT

Democratic candidates have raised more money in support of White House bids than their Republican counterparts in all election cycles after 2004. Money, however is not always an predictor of success; Trump beat Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton in 2016 even though she raised far more cash than he did.

Biden and Trump will compete in an election rematch that opinion polls suggest will be extremely close.

Trump currently leads Biden in six battleground states, according to a Wall Street Journal poll released on Wednesday.

(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)