Joe Biden Joe BidenFormer Pence aide: White House staffers discussed Trump refusing to leave office Progressive group buys domain name of Trump's No. 1 Supreme Court pick Bloomberg rolls out M ad buy to boost Biden in Florida MORE’s presidential campaign Friday admitted it is “worried” about its finances after it ended the third quarter of 2019 with far less cash on hand than its top competitors.

“I hate to say it, but our opponents are way ahead of us when it comes to money in the bank,” Elana Firsht, the Biden campaign’s online fundraising director, said in a frank fundraising email to supporters. “If we don’t pick up the pace here, we might have to make budget cuts that could seriously hurt our momentum in this primary.”

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The email came after filings with the Federal Election Commission showed that the former vice president finished the third quarter with just under $9 million cash on hand, while Sens. Bernie Sanders Bernie SandersSirota reacts to report of harassment, doxing by Harris supporters Republicans not immune to the malady that hobbled Democrats The Hill's Morning Report - Sponsored by Facebook - Republicans lawmakers rebuke Trump on election MORE (I-Vt.), Elizabeth Warren Elizabeth WarrenOvernight Defense: Appeals court revives House lawsuit against military funding for border wall | Dems push for limits on transferring military gear to police | Lawmakers ask for IG probe into Pentagon's use of COVID-19 funds On The Money: Half of states deplete funds for Trump's 0 unemployment expansion | EU appealing ruling in Apple tax case | House Democrats include more aid for airlines in coronavirus package Warren, Khanna request IG investigation into Pentagon's use of coronavirus funds MORE (D-Mass.) and Kamala Harris Kamala HarrisTexas Democratic official urges Biden to visit state: 'I thought he had his own plane' The Hill's Campaign Report: Biden on Trump: 'He'll leave' l GOP laywers brush off Trump's election remarks l Obama's endorsements A game theorist's advice to President Trump on filling the Supreme Court seat MORE (D-Calif.) had $33.7 million, $25.7 million and $10.5 million, respectively. South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg Pete ButtigiegBillionaire who donated to Trump in 2016 donates to Biden The Hill's Morning Report - Sponsored by Facebook - GOP closes ranks to fill SCOTUS vacancy by November Buttigieg stands in as Pence for Harris's debate practice MORE also raked in $23.4 million.

“Having less cash on hand means we have less budget to respond to the constant twists and turns of this race — and with Donald Trump constantly pushing his false smear campaign against Joe, that’s a HUGE problem,” Firsht wrote, referencing President Trump Donald John TrumpFederal prosecutor speaks out, says Barr 'has brought shame' on Justice Dept. Former Pence aide: White House staffers discussed Trump refusing to leave office Progressive group buys domain name of Trump's No. 1 Supreme Court pick MORE’s unfounded claims that Biden abused his power to help his son’s business interests in Ukraine “while he was vice president."

“The first votes will be cast in this primary starting February 3, 2020 — just over 100 days from now — and we need to be fueling our grassroots efforts in crucial states like Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, and South Carolina,” she added. “We can’t afford to fall behind, so I’m asking you to step up now and make a donation to fuel our campaign.”

While several other candidates, as well as Biden, spent more than they raised in the third quarter, election observers have increasingly begun to view the former vice president as a precarious front-runner, despite his strong polling numbers at the start of his campaign.

Though Biden maintains leads in many statewide and national polls, concerns among voters and analysts have only been exacerbated by a sustained surge in both polling and fundraising by Warren and a string of his public gaffes and underwhelming debate performances.

“It’s increasingly clear he's not up to the job of running a campaign,” one Democratic strategist unaffiliated with any of the presidential campaigns told The Hill.

“Joe Biden is cruising to a bruising unless he can reverse the free fall he’s been in since he announced back in the spring,” added Democratic strategist Brad Bannon.