Fredreka Schouten and Christopher Schnaars

USA TODAY

WASHINGTON — Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump each unloaded a barrage of spending during the first weeks of October, but Clinton retained an enormous financial advantage as two sprinted to Election Day.

Each presidential candidate spent about $50 million between Oct. 1 and Oct. 19, reports filed Thursday night with the Federal Election Commission show. But Clinton, the Democratic nominee, headed into the election’s homestretch with $62.4 million in stockpiled cash in her campaign account, nearly four times the $15.9 million Trump had remaining in the bank as of late last week.

Trump had total receipts of $30.5 million last month, a big drop from his September fundraising and well short of Clinton's $52.8 million haul during the first 19 days of October.

Although the Republican nominee often touts his plans to inject $100 million of his own money into the contest, the new filings show Trump is far short of that goal. He has invested about $56.1 million so far. His only donations to the campaign in October: a little more than $30,600 for in-kind contributions.

Donald Trump hasn't invested $100 million in White House race - yet

Their biggest expenses: Advertising. Clinton spent about $33 million during the first 19 days of October on media buys and digital ads. Trump’s report shows $19.3 million in “placed media” with another $14.2 million going to his Texas digital firm, Giles-Parscale, for online advertising and digital consulting.

The Trump campaign also spent more than $2 million on campaign swag — the hats, T-shirts and mugs that are popular with supporters and help drive small donations to the campaign.

In recent months, Trump has used his newly opened Washington, D.C., hotel as a backdrop for public appearances. On Wednesday, he stepped off the campaign trail to attend the grand opening of the Trump International Hotel, just a few blocks away from the White House.

Thursday night’s filings show that his campaign also is among the hotel's customers. The campaign recently paid the hotel $13,431.88 for facility rental and catering.