Trump far ahead of Democrats in election fundraising

By Vakkas Dogantekin

ANKARA (AA) - U.S. President Donald Trump’s reelection campaign and Republican National Committee (RNC) raised $105 million in second quarter of 2019, the committee announced Tuesday.

"Our massive fundraising success is a testament to the overwhelming support for President Trump," Brad Parscale, Trump’s campaign manager, said in a statement.

"No Democrat candidate can match this level of enthusiasm or President Trump’s outstanding record of results," Parscale added.

Trump and his fundraising committees raked in $54 million of the total $105 million, while the RNC collected $51 million.

Ronna McDaniel, RNC’s chairwoman, said the "record-breaking fundraising" by the party has allowed them to "identify troves of new supporters online and continue investing in our unprecedented field program."

McDaniel added that the grassroots "army" is "already hard at work" which she said will put them "in prime position to re-elect President Trump and Republicans across the country.”

Trump’s reelection campaign is off to a very good start financially, at a time when his Democratic opponents struggle to generate funds in the middle of heated live debates to win the primaries.

So far none of the Democratic hopefuls raised more than $30 million, with Pete Buttigieg raising more than others to the surprise of political analysts.

Buttigieg -- the 37-year-old mayor of South Bend, Indiana -- is the first openly-gay Democrat to run for president.