WASHINGTON, Feb 21 — Donald Trump’s election campaign spent more money on ads and other expenses in January than it took in from donors, according to a disclosure submitted on Tuesday to the Federal Election Commission.

Trump’s cash holdings fell to just over US$30 million (RM143.8 million) at the close of last month as he waged successful campaigns for primary contests in Iowa and New Hampshire, down from around US$33 million a month earlier, the disclosure showed.

Trump is closing in on the Republican nomination to face President Joe Biden, a Democrat, in the November presidential election, but he has trailed Biden in fundraising while also spending aggressively on primary contests.

While Biden’s campaign is due to file its own financial disclosure for January later on Tuesday, the president’s re-election campaign reported having nearly US$46 million in the bank at the end of December.

Biden is facing a less competitive process for his party’s nomination, helping him to grow a larger bank account. Earlier on Tuesday, his campaign said in a statement it is aggressively courting small dollar donors, along with the Democratic Party.

Trump’s campaign said it raised US$8.8 million in January and spent more than US$11 million, with outlays including more than US$5 million on ads and mailings as he easily won his party’s first presidential nomination contests.

Even if Trump keeps trailing Biden in the money race, the Republican has shown he can win elections when rivals have outspent him, as he defeated Democrat Hillary Clinton in 2016.

Trump and Biden are neck-and-neck in many national public opinion polls and a close race in November is expected.

Trump’s remaining rival for the Republican nomination, former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, outraised him last month by taking in more than US$11 million, according to separate disclosure from her campaign.

Still, Trump is expected to best her in her home state’s Republican primary on Saturday.

Legal expenses

Separately, the biggest super PAC supporting Trump, known as MAGA Inc, reported raising US$7 million last month, barely enough to offset the US$5 million refund it issued to a separate Trump political action committee (PAC) that is paying the candidate’s legal expenses as he battles dozens of criminal charges.

The Trump group that received the money, Save America, reported spending close to US$3 million on legal expenses during the month, adding to the more than US$47 million it spent last year on legal expenses.

Most of MAGA Inc’s fundraising in January came from a US$5 million contribution from Timothy Mellon, heir to the Mellon banking fortune, who is also funding a super PAC backing independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

By comparison, the SFA Fund, a super PAC supporting Haley’s campaign, reported taking in US$12 million, including contributions of more than US$2 million after she lost the January 24 New Hampshire primary to Trump. — Reuters