When it comes to presidential fundraising, California is a juggernaut. The Golden State is home to a large group of uber-wealthy donors with some of the deepest pockets in the nation — money that could help swing the presidential election next week between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump. Harris would be expected to have a clear fundraising advantage: she’s a California native who served as the state’s junior senator and attorney general.
Trump has frequently bashed California and its leaders on a range of issues and in the 2020 presidential campaign lost the state by nearly 20 percentage points. In 2020, President Joe Biden’s campaign raised more than $145 million from Californians, the most from any state in the nation, campaign finance disclosures filed with the Federal Election Commission showed. While California is overwhelmingly Democratic, it is a major source of Republican campaign dollars — Trump raised $333 million in the state for his 2016 campaign committee, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
The Times analyzed federal election data to identify the biggest donors hoping to sway voters in this year’s race. The records reviewed include individual contributions from donors residing in California as of Sept. 30.
Not surprisingly, Harris supporters dominate the list of largest donors, taking up 89 of the top 100 spots. In fact, 48 of the top 50 givers from California all donated to pro-Harris fundraising committe.
