The cavalry is here, and megadonors on both sides of the aisle are donating massive amounts of cash to politicians and outside groups in what's expected to be the most expensive election ever, new filings show.
Businessman Timothy Mellon, who has been a major donor to super PACs backing both former President Donald Trump and independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., took his giving to a new level in May, giving MAGA Inc., the super PAC supporting Trump's bid, $50 million on the final day of the month. The date of the contribution listed in the report was the day after Trump's conviction in New York.
The gift was the largest federal individual campaign contribution so far this election cycle pending the remaining reports to be filed Thursday, and it's one of the largest of all time. So far this cycle, Mellon has given more than $100 million to political organizations. And the donation to MAGA Inc. made up most of the $68.8 million the group raised in May.
And after a massive fundraising haul in May, bolstered by supporters’ reaction to his conviction, the Trump campaign told NBC News that it’s political apparatus — which includes the campaign, the Republican National Committee and its authorized committees — ended May with $235 million in cash on hand. That’s more than the $212 million that the Biden campaign said it had across its groups by the end of May.
Billionaire Michael Bloomberg, the former New York City mayor who ran for president in 2020 when some were concerned that then-Vice President Joe Biden couldn't vanquish more progressive Democratic rivals, ponied up to help Biden's re-election. Bloomberg gave $19 million to Biden's top super PAC, FF PAC, while The Washington Post reported that he gave $929,600 more to Biden's joint fundraising committee. (That group doesn't have to file new reports until later this year.)
Also in May, venture capitalists Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz donated $12.5 million each to Fairshake, the pro-cryptocurrency super PAC.
Richard and Elizabeth Uihlein, the GOP megadonors and scions of the Uline shipping and packing company, gave MAGA Inc. a combined $10 million.
Two regular Democratic megadonors, businessmen James Simons and Fred Eychaner, combined to seed the super PAC that boosts House Democrats with $6.5 million. (Simons also gave FF PAC $6.6 million, while Eychaner gave the group $2 million.)
And billionaire Miriam Adelson, who Politico recently reported plans to help bankroll a pro-Trump super PAC, gave $1 million to a super PAC supporting GOP Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas.
While well-known donors opened their pocketbooks last month, one $10 million donation came from an unexpected source. Movement Voter PAC, a progressive group, reported receiving $10 million from a Massachusetts man named Jay Scheide, whose occupation is listed as “not employed.” Federal campaign finance records show Scheide has been a small-dollar donor until now.
The figures are just a glimpse of the incredible sums of money being funneled into campaigns and outside groups ahead of the fall. Biden and Trump have raised hundreds of millions of dollars for their political operations, with key federal and statewide races expected to draw hundreds of millions more.
The ad-tracking firm AdImpact predicted last year that ad spending alone will eclipse $10 billion, a record sum that doesn't even include the tons more spent on other aspects of campaigning and organizing.
CORRECTION (June 21, 2024, 2:19 p.m. ET): A previous version of this article misstated the date of businessman Timothy Mellon’s donation to a pro-Trump super PAC. It was the day after Trump’s conviction in New York, not the day of.
