Republican strategist Karl Rove and former Obama adviser David Plouffe both agreed that President Joe Biden‘s significant cash advantage over former President Donald Trump‘s campaign is a key advantage in the race for the White House.
While they both made clear money is not the deciding factor, in a tight race, a cash advantage can help a campaign on the margins, they said while speaking at Arizona State University on David Axelrod’s CNN podcast The Axe Files.
Plouffe said that money typically plays a big role in races where the candidates are not well known. While both Biden and Trump are some of the most well-known politicians in the country, because of how close the election is expected to be, he thinks the campaigns will want to do everything they can to ensure victory — which money can help with.
“So they define themselves, their opponent, what the race is about. But in a race that is going to be this close, you want the resources to do everything you think you need to do to win. And right now, I think because Trump’s not going to put any of his own money and we know that he’s never going to do that,” Plouffe said.
Rove agreed with Plouffe’s assessment of how money affects a race, but he also pointed out the money advantage could translate into a get-out-the-vote advantage, which Rove says is critical in tight races. He also pointed to Republican chaos in several state parties in key states.
“So the Democrats, if they deploy this money, are going to have a bigger advantage,” Rove said. “They also have an advantage that the Republican Party in battleground states, the parties are in shambles.”
“In Nevada, Arizona — lovely thing you’ve had going on here — Wisconsin, you know, Ohio is OK. Michigan was an utter disaster. They literally are broke,” he said. “All of the computers were taken out of the headquarters by the previous leadership. They don’t know. They’re still fighting over the bank accounts. They don’t even control the website.”
Rove also said that the lack of funds on the GOP side could give Biden and Democrats a “decided advantage.”
“And so we’re, you know, seven months from an election, and in critical battleground states, the Republican Party is in trouble, and money can solve that problem — if we had it,” Rove said. “And it can give the Democrats a decided advantage on the get-out-the-vote.”
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Plouffe reiterated that while money is not the ultimate factor in the election, it could be a great help for Biden “on the margins” and in key battleground states.
Biden got some help with a high-profile fundraising event in New York City on Thursday, alongside former President Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, as his campaign brags about the $25 million it could make on the event by itself. In recent months, the Biden campaign has amassed a significant advantage in donations, as the Trump campaign also pays for the former president’s legal fees in his various court cases.