Both President Donald Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden agree that the 2020 election is the most important election ever. The data indicates that it will also be the most expensive election ever. Trump began raising money for his reelection campaign in the early days of his presidency, building up a war chest dubbed "insurmountable" by some experts. But Biden rode Democratic enthusiasm to smash fundraising records and surpass the Trump campaign's fundraising haul during the final months of the election cycle. In addition to the candidates, outside groups backed by billionaire donors and closely tied "dark money" groups are also spending unprecedented amounts of money to influence the 2020 election.

Amount raised by candidates, so far: $3,159.6 million

Campaign funding by active candidates

(Lighter bar represents candidate committee money; darker bar represents outside money.)

Candidates who have dropped out of the 2020 presidential race

NOTE: All the numbers on this page are for the 2020 election cycle and based on Federal Election Commission data released electronically on 09/21/20.

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