The Big Story 

Former President Trump and Vice President Harris are locked in a tight race for the White House, according to the polls, but their fundraising numbers shed light on another aspect of the jaw-clenching battle.

© AP

Harris has a substantial money advantage as she enters the final two months of her blistering battle against Trump, after she raised nearly $150 million more than Trump in the month after entering the race. 

The two candidates are neck and neck in the latest national polls, with The Hill/Decision Desk HQ aggregate showing Harris at a slight 3.7 percentage point lead. Neither candidate has a lock on the 270 electoral votes needed to win the White House, and they have been aggressively campaigning in key swing states.  

Harris’s late-entry shake up to what was essentially an even cash race has added a new factor to the election’s potential outcome. Her money lead could impact how many ads voters see before they head to the polls. Harris’s campaign reported having a more than $100 million cash-on-hand lead over her Republican rival as of last month. 

Democrats have raised $678.2 million in campaign cash to Trump’s $309.2 million since January 2023, according to the most recent Federal Election Commission filings. 

Harris’s campaign raised $361 million in August alone and has $404 million in cash on hand going into the last two months before Election Day, according to the latest figures.  

Official fundraising figures for September won’t be released until next month. 

Harris’s campaign said it received $47 million in the 24 hours after her only debate against Trump on Sept. 10, with nearly 600,000 donors contributing during that period. But the debate did little to move the voter outlook, according to polls. 

During the first hour of the debate, a campaign official told The Hill that 71 percent of grassroots donations going to Harris came from women as the vice president hammered Trump on reproductive rights issues. 

Harris also got a big boost after pop super star Taylor Swift announced she would be voting for the Democrat. 

“Will you join Taylor Swift in supporting Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaign?” Harris's campaign said in an email, asking for a $25 donation, shortly after the Swift endorsement. 

The Trump campaign raised $130 million in August, which was also fueled by donations of less than $200. Trump’s team reported having $295 million in cash on hand at the end of the month. 

Welcome to The Hill’s Campaign Report, I'm Liz Crisp. Each week we track the key stories you need to know to stay ahead of the 2024 election and who will set the agenda in Washington. 

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© AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) went on Bravo’s “Watch What Happens LIVE!” with host Andy Cohen Tuesday night, and she left few clues about her future political aspirations, despite being named as a potential Democratic presidential nominee. 

“I always knew it had to be the vice president, and I’m so glad she wanted to do it and has risen to the occasion,” she said of Vice President Harris’s ascension to the top of the party’s presidential ticket after President Biden ended his reelection campaign. “I couldn’t be more happy with the ticket.” 

Three words to describe Harris, Whitmer said, would be: “badass, ready, exciting.” 

As for Harris’s running mate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Whitmer said he’s among her closest political friends. 

“Tim is spectacular. He’s just a down to earth Midwesterner,” she said. “He’s just a good dude.” 

Whitmer said she’s focused on continuing her term as governor through 2026 and wouldn’t speculate on being named to a future Harris administration role, if the vice president wins the November election.  

“I don’t know what the heck I’m gonna do next,” Whitmer said. 

Asked what her “Real Housewives” tagline would be if she were to join the Bravo roster, she made a play on former President Trump’s slight against her: “Some people call me ‘That Woman from Michigan,’ I call it ‘Getting s--- done!’” 

On her unusual nickname “Big Gretch”: “I love it. You can call me ‘Big Gretch.”

Dressed in bright pink, and wearing her signature magenta lipstick, Whitmer was plugging her new book “True Gretch.” Here are some of her quick responses from the show: 

• First concert she went to: “New Edition.”
• Go to late-night snack: “Cheese and crackers.”
• Best karaoke song: “I don’t sing.”
• Willie Nelson would be in her “dream blunt rotation.” 

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