Donors gave more than $100 million over the weekend after her passing.
Before the latest presidential disclosures were filed, some Republicans were questioning how a Trump campaign that has raised $1.3 billion since the beginning of 2019 with the Republican National Committee has already spent nearly $1 billion of those funds before the start of voting. Trump officials have repeatedly pointed to their bigger investment in ground operations (such as door-to-door canvassing) that Democrats have forgone during the pandemic as prudent spending that will provide a benefit as balloting begins.
“Our early investment in states is going to move the needle in a way that Joe Biden’s campaign just can’t do, even if they tried starting now,” Bill Stepien, Mr. Trump’s campaign manager, told reporters this month.
An extraordinary influx of cash in August accounts for Mr. Biden’s newfound financial lead, after he and the Republicans entered the month nearly neck and neck. The Biden campaign and his joint operations with the Democratic National Committee raised a record $364.5 million last month — more than any previous candidate has raised in a single month — while Mr. Trump brought in $210 million, their campaigns said.
“It’s hard to even get your head around the size and historic nature of this,” Jennifer O’Malley Dillon, Mr. Biden’s campaign manager, said in a call with reporters this month. The cash-on-hand figure released by the campaign shows it spent about $192 million, barely over half of what it brought in last month.
“We’re going to have the resources, not just to go wide on our map but also to go deep within those states,” Ms. Dillon said of the Electoral College battlegrounds.
Billionaires and very wealthy supporters continue to exert their influence on the race through super PACs, which have no limits on giving. New filings showed Kelcy Warren, an oil pipeline billionaire, gave $10 million to a pro-Trump super PAC, America First Action, along with $2 million from Diane Hendricks, a Wisconsin billionaire, and $1 million from three others.
On the Democratic side, Michael R. Bloomberg, the former mayor of New York City who ran unsuccessfully in the Democratic presidential primary, recently announced he would spend $100 million supporting Mr. Biden in Florida, by far the largest and most expensive electoral prize. James Murdoch, the son of the Fox media mogul Rupert Murdoch, donated $300,000 in August to a pro-Biden super PAC, Unite the Country.