Donald Trump’s campaign is racing to catch up to the massive financial machine that President Joe Biden and Democrats have built by holding a high-dollar fundraiser in Atlanta this week that features some of the South’s wealthiest GOP mega-donors.
Biden is leveraging his financial edge over the former president by pouring resources into Georgia, where the Democrat’s campaign plans to open seven new offices this month and just unveiled a fresh team of veteran strategists to press his reelection bid.
Long neglected on the campaign trail as little more than an “ATM machine” for marauding candidates, Georgia has transformed over the past eight years into one of the nation’s most competitive political battlegrounds — and a top target this November for both Biden and Trump.
But Trump’s noon event Wednesday in Atlanta offers a reminder that the state also remains one of the nation’s most important fundraising sites, with a built-in base of donors who have grown used to writing big checks after a series of campaigns that set Georgia records.
“Nominees always come here for big fundraisers. Atlanta has plenty of donors with deep pockets, and that’s hugely important for Republicans nationally,” GOP strategist Brian Robinson said. “The roles have reversed: Republicans used to have an automatic edge with fundraising, but Democrats have more than caught up.”
Trump has work ahead to close the financial gap with Biden. The former president and the GOP said last week that they raised more than $65.6 million in March, ending the month with $93.1 million. Biden and Democrats took in more than $90 million in March and had $192 million in the bank.
In Georgia, however, Trump far outpaces Biden. An Atlanta Journal-Constitution analysis of financial disclosures this election cycle shows Georgians have contributed more than $2.4 million to Trump, compared with $1.1 million to the Biden campaign.
Both have turned to mega-events to fuel their campaigns. In March,…
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