Kamala Harris Outspends Trump on Ads 4-to-1, Federal Records Show

Vice President Kamala Harris outspent Republican nominee Donald Trump by more than a 4:1 ratio on political ads, according to new filings with the Federal Election Commission.

The Democratic nominee’s campaign spent $269.8 million in September, according to its Sunday filings, with the majority of that budget going towards ads. She spent $225 million on ads last month, which more than quadruples the $53 million Trump spent on ads during that same time.

Overall, Trump’s campaign also spent much less in September, with filings show his team went through $78 million.

Harris can spend big because her campaign has been raking in the dough since she replaced President Joe Biden as the Democratic nominee in July. Her team and affiliated political action committees have raised more than $1 billion, Reuters reported earlier this month, since she became the nominee. She’s also received financial backing from a number of big-name billionaires, including Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings, former Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg and LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman.

Trump, meanwhile, has seen his main PAC receive only about a quarter as much in donations as Harris’. Still, he’s received some notable support from Tesla and X boss Elon Musk, who has energetically backed the former president since the first assassination attempt against Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania this summer.

Musk has consistently posted in favor of Trump — and against Harris — on X, the platform he owns, and joined Trump on stage recently when he returned to Butler.He’s also put a lot of money into helping Trump get back into the White House.

Last week, Musk reported $75 million in contributions to America PAC, his pro-Trump political action committee. America PAC’s website, which includes a picture of Musk in his “dark MAGA” hat, lists a handful of top priorities, including free speech, safe cities and secure borders. 

As the respective campaigns enter the stretch run of the 2024 election, Harris entered this month with $187.5 million in cash on hand, while Trump had $120 million.