WASHINGTON -- President Donald Trump opened up an $8 million head start on any potential 2020 Democratic challengers, new Federal Election Commission filings show.

Trump, who took the unusual step of keeping his campaign committee operating well in advance of the next election, raised $7.1 million during the first three months of 2017 and had $8.4 million in the bank at the end of March.

His committee is led by former deputy campaign manager Michael Glassner of Mendham, who was paid $70,000 over the last three months.

As was the case during his successful campaign for president, he raised most of his donations in amounts of $200 or less. Of the $3.1 million donated directly to his committee, $2.4 million, or 77 percent, came from small donors.

Another $3.5 million came in through his joint fundraising efforts with Republican Party committees.

Also as was the case during his run for the White House, Trump spent his campaign dollars at his own properties, $387,556 in all during the past three months, including his hotels in Chicago, Las Vegas, New York and Washington; and golf courses in Doral and West Palm Beach, Fla.

Overall, he spent $6.4 million from Jan. 1 to March 31, including $1.1 million for those red "Make America Great Again" caps and other campaign paraphernalia.

Trump had initially pledged to use $100 million of his own money on his campaign, but wound up spending $66.1 million. That still was more than any other U.S. presidential candidate ever.

Jonathan D. Salant may be reached at jsalant@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JDSalant or on Facebook. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.