President Donald Trump has already raised $56 million for his own reelection and has staffed a full campaign, more than a year before Democrats will chose their nominee. | Carolyn Kaster/AP Photo 2020 Elections Trump-endorsed outside groups outraised by Dems Priorities USA raised more money than Trump-aligned America First in the first half of 2019.

Democrats’ main outside groups focused on the presidential race have raised more money this year than the super PAC and nonprofit supporting President Donald Trump, according to new fundraising figures.

The disparity is unusual: The party that holds the White House usually builds an across-the-board fundraising advantage heading into the next election. But big Democratic donors, fired up to oppose Trump in 2020, are throwing cash at Priorities USA, which will back the eventual Democratic nominee.


Priorities’ super PAC and allied nonprofit, which have already begun spending millions, said they have raised $23.4 million in the first six months of 2019, while America First Action and allied nonprofit America First Policies, the main outside groups supporting Trump's reelection, announced Wednesday they had jointly raised $17.8 million.

Though many Democratic candidates have focused on small-dollar fundraising this year, the super PAC is still raking in big checks. The majority of the cash raised by Priorities USA's super PAC came as six- and seven-figure donations from stalwart Democrats: It took in $2 million from financier Donald Sussman, $1 million from philanthropist Marsha Z. Laufer and $100,000 from Bernard Schwartz, all longtime Democratic donors. Unions gave the group an additional $1.25 million, according to disclosures.

America First Action has said it hopes to raise $300 million over the course of the 2020 campaign, bolstering Trump’s strong campaign fundraising and the Republican National Committee’s big cash lead over its Democratic counterpart. But the Trump super PAC has faced questions within the GOP about whether it will be able to rally high-dollar donors. This spring, former Small Business Administration head Linda McMahon was tapped to chair America First Action — a move aimed at helping the organization gain traction.

McMahon, a former pro wrestling executive who twice ran for Senate in Connecticut, has relationships with many of the Republican Party’s top benefactors and has been reaching out to prospective givers. She has also dug into her own pocket, donating $1 million, an official with the group said.

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Officials with the pro-Trump group expressed confidence they would hit their $300 million goal and said they had $40 million in outstanding donor pledges which were not yet reflected in the fundraising totals. Priorities said in its fundraising announcement that it has collected about $55 million in future pledges.

Guy Cecil, chairman of Priorities USA, cheered the group's fundraising in a statement as a sign that "stakes have never been higher and Priorities is uniquely positioned to hold President Trump accountable."

But the money raised by Priorities USA will only help Democrats so much. Though liberal super PACs and secret-money groups are thriving in the Trump era, the president is making extensive — and well funded — preparations of his own.

Trump has already raised $56 million for his own reelection and has staffed a full campaign, more than a year before Democrats chose their nominee. The RNC, meanwhile, has raised more than twice as much money as the Democratic National Committee has this year. Funds spent by campaigns and party committees go further than money spent by super PACs, which pay a higher rate to air TV ads.

Major Republican donors to America First Action included several top GOP megadonors, including real estate developer Geoffrey Palmer, philanthropist Marlene Ricketts, and shipping executive Richard Uihlein. Ricketts, a Nebraska-based Republican whose son Todd serves as RNC finance chairman, gave $500,000.



CORRECTION: This article has been updated to correct the spelling of Richard Uihlein's name.