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Hillary Clinton Has Spent Three Times More on Primary Than Donald Trump

Hillary Clinton
AP
June 1, 2016

Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign has spent about $120 million more on her primary battle with Bernie Sanders than Donald Trump spent to defeat the crowded Republican field.

Clinton has already spent $181.6 million on her campaign compared to just $56.5 million spent by Trump.

Trump is being outspent by Clinton in nearly every aspect of the campaign. She has spent more on media alone, $62.3 million, than Trump has spent overall. Clinton is spending an additional $42.1 million on staff salaries.

Clinton is also out-raising Trump, partly thanks to the $11.5 million the campaign has spent on fundraising. Clinton has brought in $185.5 million through individual contributions compared to just $13.8 million for Trump. Trump, however, has contributed $43.4 million of his own money to his campaign.

Clinton's campaign has been forced to spend so much money before the general election campaign even begins due to the strong fundraising operation of the Sanders campaign, which has already spent more than $200 million.

The spending disparity between Clinton and Trump will likely grow after the campaigns submit their next filings to the Federal Election Commission due to the added focus that Clinton is putting on next week's California primary.

The Clinton campaign cancelled events in other parts of the country so that Clinton can spend five days straight in California in hopes of holding off Sanders, who continues to close the gap in the polls. This desperate California push comes just two weeks after Clinton said "there is no way" she won't be the Democratic nominee.

Even if Clinton succeeds in California, she will likely not be able to get rid of Sanders. Sanders has stated that he will continue his campaign through to the party's convention in late July even if he loses in both California and New Jersey.

Critics have pointed to Clinton's inability to seal the nomination despite her mass spending as a sign of deeply entrenched divide amongst Democratic voters.

"The growing influence of the Warren/Sanders wing of the party is obvious," wrote Matt Rhoades, the campaign manager for Mitt Romney's 2012 presidential campaign. "Despite spending nearly $200 million in the Democratic primary, Clinton has still failed to close out a 74-year-old socialist who doesn’t even comb his hair."