Biden Campaign Raises over $53 Mln in February Fundraising

 US President Joe Biden speaks as he visits the Wisconsin campaign headquarters in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on March 13, 2024. (AFP)
US President Joe Biden speaks as he visits the Wisconsin campaign headquarters in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on March 13, 2024. (AFP)
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Biden Campaign Raises over $53 Mln in February Fundraising

 US President Joe Biden speaks as he visits the Wisconsin campaign headquarters in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on March 13, 2024. (AFP)
US President Joe Biden speaks as he visits the Wisconsin campaign headquarters in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on March 13, 2024. (AFP)

US President Joe Biden's re-election campaign raised more than $53 million in February and has $155 million cash-on-hand after pulling in the most grassroots fundraising since the campaign's launch.

February's fundraising came just before Biden clinched the Democratic Party's nomination in March and before he raised $10 million in the 24 hours following his fiery State of the Union address.

About 1.3 million donors have made nearly 3.4 million contributions, and 97% of donations have been under $200, according to a statement from Biden's campaign, which released the figures on Sunday.

Biden in February went on a fundraising trip to California and attended fundraisers in the Los Angeles and San Francisco areas.

Opposition to Donald Trump, who clinched the Republican Party's nomination, and to the GOP have motivated donors.

Biden's campaign generated $1.6 million in grassroots revenue in the 48 hours following the GOP primary in South Carolina, while Trump-focused emails have also driven donations, Biden's campaign said.

"The stakes of this election couldn't be higher for the future of this country, and our historic fundraising operation is making sure every voter knows these stakes come November," said Julie Chavez Rodriguez, Biden's campaign manager.

A recent Reuters/Ipsos poll showed Biden had a marginal 1 percentage point lead over Trump ahead of November's election.

Some 39% of registered voters in the one-week poll said they would vote for Biden, a Democrat, if the election were held today, compared with 38% who picked Trump.



Aid Group: More than 10,000 Migrants Died this Year Trying to Reach Spain by Sea

FILE - Migrants crowd a wooden boat as they sail to the port in La Restinga on the Canary island of El Hierro, Spain, Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Maria Ximena, File)
FILE - Migrants crowd a wooden boat as they sail to the port in La Restinga on the Canary island of El Hierro, Spain, Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Maria Ximena, File)
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Aid Group: More than 10,000 Migrants Died this Year Trying to Reach Spain by Sea

FILE - Migrants crowd a wooden boat as they sail to the port in La Restinga on the Canary island of El Hierro, Spain, Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Maria Ximena, File)
FILE - Migrants crowd a wooden boat as they sail to the port in La Restinga on the Canary island of El Hierro, Spain, Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Maria Ximena, File)

More than 10,000 migrants died while trying to reach Spain by sea this year, a report released by a Spanish migration rights group said on Thursday.
On average, that means 30 migrants died every day this year attempting to reach the country by boat, Caminando Fronteras (Walking Borders) said. Overall deaths rose 58% compared to last year, the report added, according to The Associated Press.
Tens of thousands of migrants left West Africa in 2024 for the Canary Islands, a Spanish archipelago close to the African coast that has increasingly been used as a stepping stone to continental Europe.
Caminando Fronteras said most of the 10,457 deaths recorded up until Dec. 15. took place along that crossing, the so-called Atlantic route — considered one of the world's most dangerous.
The organization compiles its figures from families of migrants and official statistics of those rescued. It included 1,538 children and 421 women among the dead. April and May were the deadliest months, the report said.
Caminando Fronteras also noted a “sharp increase” in 2024 in boats leaving from Mauritania, which it said became the main departure point on the route to the Canary Islands.
In February, Spain pledged 210 million euros (around $218 million) in aid to Mauritania to help it crack down on human smugglers and prevent boats from taking off.
Spain’s interior ministry says more than 57, 700 migrants reached Spain by boat until Dec. 15 this year, a roughly 12% increase from the same period last year. The vast majority of them came through the Atlantic route.