As the race for the US presidency heats up, candidates from the Democratic and Republican parties are scrambling to bulk up their war chest ahead of the start of the primary and general election campaigns.

Even though the primary season is yet to start incumbent President Joe Biden is leading all the candidates as per the finance disclosures submitted to the US Federal Election Commission for the second quarter of 2023 that ended on June, reported Bloomberg.

Joe Biden

The US president’s team in a statement said that the campaign has raised $72 million for the 2024 re-election effort in the second quarter.

As per Bloomberg, the US president since launching his re-election has raised over $1 million per day on average. The money raised is much higher than his former boss Barack Obama.

One of the major factors for the US president to raise such huge amounts joint fundraising agreements between Biden’s campaign, the Democratic National Convention (DNC) and state parties. The agreement allows Biden to accept money in much bigger chunks than his Republican rivals.

The maximum donation to the Biden Victory Fund is $929,600, dwarfing the $3,300 individual contribution limit for single campaigns without a broader agreement with the party.

Amid Biden’s donors include ChatGPT maker OpenAI’s Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman, LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, actor and writer Seth MacFarlane, and fashion designer Michael Kors.

Donald Trump

As per Bloomberg, Biden’s predecessor, Donald Trump, who is trying to chalk out a return to the White House has gathered over $35 million through small donners in the second quarter despite the legal challenges he faces.

As per Bloomberg, the funds were raised through the Trump Save America Joint Fundraising Committee but it is not necessary that all the money would go to the former president’s campaign.

The committee splits donations between Trump’s campaign and his leadership political action committee (PAC) and won’t report to the US FEC until July 31. At this point, it is unclear how much of the $35 million will ultimately go to the leadership PAC, which can be dispersed to other candidates or pay Trump’s legal expenses, but 10% of the money is currently earmarked for it.

Even though the primary season is yet to start, Trump is the frontrunner for the Republican nomination with 53% support in the RealClearPolitics average of national polls, reported Bloomberg.

Ron DeSantis

Ron DeSantis, governor of the US state of Florida, has raised over $20 million during the second quarter but in the race for the Republican nomination, he remains a distant second to Trump as the polls show him averaging a 20.6% support.

Among his donors include billionaires Kelcy Warren, chairman of Energy Transfer, Home Depot co-founder Kenneth Langone, and Harlan Crow, the conservative billionaire who bestowed luxurious trips and private real estate deals on US Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and his family.

Nikki Haley

Former US ambassador to UN Nikki Haley has raked in $26 million, in the outgoing quarter, including $7.3 million in direct donations. But the former envoy is yet to make a mark in the polls and is hovering around 3%.

Mike Pence

Trump’s vice president Mike Pence is way behind in the race and has only been able to raise less than $1.2 million. But it has only been 24 days since he announced his bid for the White House.

Vivek Ramaswamy

Biotech entrepreneur and Indian descent Republican hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy took in $7.7 million in the second quarter, including $5.4 million that was paid by himself, reported Bloomberg.

As per the publication, the businessman has spent $16 million of his own money since he announced his candidacy.

Tim Scott

South Carolina Senator Tim Scott has managed to raise $6.1 million in only 40 days since he announced his candidacy.

Doug Burgum

Governor of US state North Dakota Doug Burgum, who’s largely self-financing his long-shot presidential campaign, raked in $11.7 million during the second quarter. But $10.2 million of the money raised was put in by the governor himself.

Chris Christie

Former governor of the US state of New Jersey and a Trump critic Chris Christie has accumulated over $1.6 million in the second quarter, reported Bloomberg citing a press release from his campaign.

Robert F Kennedy Jr.

Robert F Kennedy Jr who hopes to challenge President Joe Biden in the Democrat primary has close to $6.4 million, so far.

The Democrat is the son of former US president Robert F Kennedy and has been involved in promoting conspiracy theories and falsehoods. However, not many people are seeing Kennedy as a threat to Biden.

Kennedy’s donors include Airbnb Inc. co-founder Joseph Gebbia and Pershing Square Capital Management founder Bill Ackman.

Marianne Williamson

Marianne Williamson, a longshot Democratic candidate, has managed to only raise close to $921,000 in the second quarter.