Trump campaign reports raising $137 million in July, falling short of Harris’ first-week total

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican former President Donald Trump ‘s campaign and its related affiliates announced Thursday that they had raised $138.7 million last month — less than what his new opponent in November’s election, Vice President Kamala Harris, took in during her White House bid’s opening week.

Trump’s campaign says it has $327 million in cash on hand heading into August, with the election now just a bit more than three months away. Harris’ campaign has yet to announce its July fundraising totals or say how much it has in campaign funds, but it says the vice president’s entry into the race has sparked a wave of new donations and volunteers.

The former president’s campaign, the Republican National Committee and other entities previously announced raising $331 million in the three-month period that ended in June — meaning their July totals were above that pace.

They may have been helped by Trump surviving an assassination attempt during a rally in Pennsylvania on July 13, which galvanized some of his supporters, and his subsequently announcing his running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.

Some Democrats were once panicked about the party’s prospects of a November loss by President Joe Biden. But donors gave enough that Harris’ team announced it had taken in $200 million in the first week after Biden revealed on July 21 that he was abandoning his reelection bid and formally endorsing Harris.

The vice president has since intensified her travel schedule and unleased a flurry of advertising presenting her personal story and criticizing Trump. Some in her party who felt like Trump was favored in November after the 81-year-old Biden’s dismal debate performance on June 27 now see a new race with the 59-year-old Harris.

Harris will become her party’s formal presidential nominee by virtual voting of delegates to the Democratic National Convention in a process set to conclude Monday, and she is expected to name her running mate around the same time. The Democratic convention opens in Chicago on Aug. 19.

Will Weissert, The Associated Press