Harris campaign reports spending $270m in Sept, well above Trump’s outlays of $78m

WASHINGTON: Kamala Harris entered the final full month of the US presidential election campaign vastly outspending Donald Trump, as both candidates put tens of millions of dollars into television ads ahead of the November 5 contest, according to financial disclosures filed on Sunday.

The campaigns are racing the final stretch of an extremely tight presidential contest, with many polls showing the two candidates neck-and-neck, including in battleground states that could determine the winner.

Democratic Vice President Harris has built a significant financial advantage since launching her campaign in July when President Joe Biden ended his re-election bid.

She disclosed to the Federal Election Commission spending of $270 million last month, largely on ads.

Former Republican President Trump’s similarly ad-dominated spending totalled $78 million during the month.

Harris’s larger bank account is helping her blanket airwaves with television ads in the final days before the election, though it might not deliver victory.

In the 2016 presidential contest, Trump defeated Hillary Clinton despite raising less money than the Democrat.

Harris has raised more money than Trump in recent months from mostly small donors – including in September when Harris raised $222 million to Trump’s $63 million.

However, Trump’s deep-pocketed backers, including billionaire Elon Musk, have put significant resources into groups allied with the former president.

The Make America Great Again Inc super PAC, one of the largest of Trump’s allied groups, received a $25 million contribution in September from conservative billionaire Timothy Mellon, according to a separate filing to the Federal Election Commission.

Mellon, an heir of the Pittsburgh-based Mellon banking family, had already given the super PAC at least $115 million earlier in the year. The super PAC has focused much of its spending on television ads backing Trump.

The Harris campaign told the Federal Election Commission it entered October with $187 million in the bank, compared to $120 million reported by Trump’s campaign.