For Immediate Release

Contact: Brendan Glavin February 21, 2017 (202) 969-8890 x223

Analysis of the Final 2016 Presidential Campaign Finance Reports President Trump, with RNC Help, Raised More Small Donor Money than President Obama; As Much As Clinton and Sanders Combined Trump raised 69% of his individual contributions from small donors, compared to Sanders’ 44% (2016), Clinton’s 22% (2016), Obama’s 28% (2012) and 24% (2008)

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After financing half of his primary election campaign out of his own pocket, Republican presidential nominee Donald J. Trump launched a general election effort with the help of the Republican National Committee (RNC) that was fueled to an unprecedented extent by contributions from small donors.



After raising $99.9 million through June 30, including $50 million in self-financing, Trump raised $309 million after June 30, 64 percent of which came through joint fundraising committees in partnership with the RNC and other party committees. By contrast, Clinton raised nearly three times as much as Trump before June 30, but was only slightly ahead of him during the general election in her campaign committee’s total receipts ($336.3 million). A bit less than half of her campaign’s money came through joint fundraising committees. (See



Small donors: After including the money from joint fundraisers, $238.6 million of Trump’s campaign funds came from donors who gave a total of $200 or less. This was 69 percent of the campaign’s individual contributions and 58 percent its total receipts.



As a comparison, Senator Bernie Sanders’ much-noted small donors gave his campaign $99.7 million (44 percent of his individual contributions), while Hillary Clinton’s gave $136.8 million (22 percent). Combining Sanders and Clinton’s small donors would put them just short of Trump’s $238.6 million (see



The previous frontrunner was Barack Obama, who raised $218.8 million in 2012 (28 percent) and $181.3 million in 2008 (24 percent) from donors who gave $200 or less (see Tables



It is important to note that these figures represent donors who gave $200 or less over a full two year cycle. Many of Obama’s, Sanders’, and Clinton’s donors started with small contributions but gave more than once, eventually triggering the $201 disclosure threshold. Because Trump raised most of his money over four months, fewer of his donors had this experience. Even this caveat, however, does not negate the fact that his small donor numbers were record shattering.



Tables:



















Methodology: Data is from disclosure reports filed with the Federal Election Commission. All contributions by individuals over the course of the cycle are aggregated so that each donor is represented by the total amount they gave to each candidate. Contributions given to joint fundraising committees, that are attributable to the candidate, are also included.





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The Campaign Finance Institute is the nation's pre-eminent think tank for objective, non-partisan research on money in politics in U.S. federal and state elections. CFI's original work is published in scholarly journals as well as in forms regularly used by the media and policy making community. Statements made in its reports do not necessarily reflect the views of CFI's Trustees or financial supporters.

After financing half of his primary election campaign out of his own pocket, Republican presidential nominee Donald J. Trump launched a general election effort with the help of the Republican National Committee (RNC) that was fueled to an unprecedented extent by contributions from small donors.After raising $99.9 million through June 30, including $50 million in self-financing, Trump raised $309 million after June 30, 64 percent of which came through joint fundraising committees in partnership with the RNC and other party committees. By contrast, Clinton raised nearly three times as much as Trump before June 30, but was only slightly ahead of him during the general election in her campaign committee’s total receipts ($336.3 million). A bit less than half of her campaign’s money came through joint fundraising committees. (See Table 1 for the Trump and Clinton campaign’s receipts before and after June 30. The table includes a breakdown for contributions given directly to the campaign, or flowing through joint fundraising committees.)After including the money from joint fundraisers, $238.6 million of Trump’s campaign funds came from donors who gave a total of $200 or less. This was 69 percent of the campaign’s individual contributions and 58 percent its total receipts.As a comparison, Senator Bernie Sanders’ much-noted small donors gave his campaign $99.7 million (44 percent of his individual contributions), while Hillary Clinton’s gave $136.8 million (22 percent). Combining Sanders and Clinton’s small donors would put them just short of Trump’s $238.6 million (see Table 2 ).The previous frontrunner was Barack Obama, who raised $218.8 million in 2012 (28 percent) and $181.3 million in 2008 (24 percent) from donors who gave $200 or less (see Tables 3 and 4 ). Mitt Romney, the Republican nominee in 2012, raised $57.5 million (12 percent) from small donors ( Table 3 ).It is important to note that these figures represent donors who gave $200 or less over a full two year cycle. Many of Obama’s, Sanders’, and Clinton’s donors started with small contributions but gave more than once, eventually triggering the $201 disclosure threshold. Because Trump raised most of his money over four months, fewer of his donors had this experience. Even this caveat, however, does not negate the fact that his small donor numbers were record shattering. Table 1: Contributions to 2016 Presidential Candidate Committees and Joint Fundraisers Table 2: Sources of Funds - Individual Donors to 2016 Presidential Candidates Table 3: Sources of Funds - Individual Donors to 2012 Presidential Candidates Table 4: Sources of Funds - Individual Donors to 2008 Presidential Candidates: Data is from disclosure reports filed with the Federal Election Commission. All contributions by individuals over the course of the cycle are aggregated so that each donor is represented by the total amount they gave to each candidate. Contributions given to joint fundraising committees, that are attributable to the candidate, are also included.



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