Harris' main fundraising group raised four times as much as Trump in July

WASHINGTON - Kamala Harris' main campaign fundraising group raised four times as much money in July as that raised by Donald Trump's campaign, according to federal disclosures filed late on Tuesday, a sign of enthusiasm ahead of the Nov. 5 presidential election.

Democratic Vice President Harris' campaign told the Federal Election Commission it raised $204 million last month, compared to $48 million reported to the body by Republican former President Trump's main fundraising group.

Harris' figures include money raised during the month before she launched her candidacy on July 21, when President Joe Biden folded his flagging re-election effort. Biden endorsed Harris, who took over control of Biden's fundraising group. The records show the group raised more than $60 million in the first three days of Harris' candidacy.

Harris also outspent Trump during the month, $81 million to $24 million, according to their FEC reports.

The Harris campaign had previously announced that the campaign and the Democratic Party's main fundraising group had raised a combined $310 million in July, while the Trump campaign had similarly said that it and the Republican Party had raised a combined $138 million.

While the candidates and their parties work together, the sums raised by the campaign are important because the campaigns are by law given steep discounts on television ads, while the parties and other allied groups must pay full price.

Trump's re-election effort also received a massive contribution last month from conservative billionaire Timothy Mellon, who gave the pro-Trump super PAC known as MAGA Inc another $50 million. Mellon, an heir of the Pittsburgh-based Mellon banking family, has given MAGA Inc at least $115 million this year. The super PAC is one of the biggest spenders in the election, and reported spending more than $43 million in July to help Trump's election effort.

Big contributions also flowed into a top super PAC backing Harris known as Future Forward PAC, including $5 million donated by Marc Stad, an investor in Silicon Valley firms, after Harris launched her campaign.