The 2016 presidential race might be over, but the fundraising battle isn’t.
Donald Trump’s campaign committee is still sending solicitations to supporters, asking them to donate money. One donation page on Trump’s web site states that contributions up to $2,700 the legal maximum for a candidate’s campaign committee, per cycle will go toward paying down debt accumulated during the race. But additional amounts, up to the next $2,700, “will be designated to the 2020 primary election,” according to the site.
“Trump apparently has self-declared as a candidate for the 2020 election, and is already raising money for his candidacy,” says Brendan Fischer, an attorney with the Campaign Legal Center, which monitors campaign-finance activity.
Trump, who will be 74 in 2020, hasn’t said publicly whether he plans to run for reelection and some people doubt he’ll last even four years. But it goes without saying that millions of people have underestimated Trump up till now. Trump could also donate money raised by his campaign to another candidate if he decides not to run. Trump spokespeople did not respond to Yahoo Finance for this story.
A better question than whether Trump plans to run again is why he’s still raising money for a campaign he continues to promote as “self-funded.” On another fundraising page , Trump says donations are needed “to help us fight back against the attacks and get our message straight to the American people.” That suggests new donations could be handed to other groups engaged in political activity that supports Trump’s agenda.
It’s legal to raise money after an election, as long as the money is used to pay down debt. And the fine print on some of Trump’s fundraising pages says 80% of the money will go to the Trump campaign while 20% will go the Republican National Committee, which is subject to different rules and is allowed to spend contributed funds on ongoing political activities.
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