US: Trump beats expectations, raises $51 million with GOP in June

Donald Trump raised more than $26 million through online and mail solicitations in June and another $25 million at events with the Republican National Committee, his campaign announced Wednesday, a hefty haul that his allies hope will put to rest anxieties in the party about his fundraising prowess.
The combined $51 million falls short of the $68.5 million that Democratic contender Hillary Clinton and the Democratic Party collected in June, which included $40.5 million she raised directly for her campaign. But it was the biggest monthly take by far for the presumptive GOP presidential nominee, who did not begin to hold fundraising events until late May. And it suggests Trump has the ability to quickly inject large sums of money into his campaign coffers by tapping into the fervor of his supporters.

Much of the campaign's money appears to have come in during the final 10 days of the month, when Trump’s operation began aggressively soliciting money online for the first time. The Trump campaign announced Wednesday that more than 400,000 supporters made donations in June, with more than $3 million coming in just one day. That indicates that the billionaire will be able to post far larger totals in the coming months if he continues to actively urge his backers to give.
Aides said the pace of donations has continued in July and they believe Trump could build the kind of online fundraising juggernaut that drove Sen. Bernie Sanders's Democratic nomination bid.
“We’re extremely pleased with the response,” said Steven Mnuchin, Trump’s national finance chairman, noting the campaign just kicked off its online fundraising efforts two and half weeks ago. “We are seeing similar levels to the level of success that Bernie Sanders was able to attract from his supporters.”
The Trump campaign is hoping to draw some of the senator's supporters to back the Republican in the general election over Clinton.
“I think that this reflects the wide level of support and interest there is out there to see Donald Trump as president,” Mnuchin added.
 Trump also contributed $3.8 million personally last month, bringing the total donations for the month to $55 million, the campaign said.

It is unclear how much of the $51 million contributed by others will go directly to Trump’s campaign. More than $31 million was raised through two joint fundraising efforts with the RNC, which gets a share of the proceeds.
The Trump campaign must file a detailed report about its June fundraising and expenditures to the Federal Election Commission by July 20, which falls right in the middle of the Republican National Convention.

Source: New York Times