Harris campaign reportedly spent nearly three times as much as Trump’s campaign team in August

By Jason Lange

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Kamala Harris spent nearly three times as much money on her campaign in August as she did on her rival Donald Trump, giving the Democrat a financial lead ahead of the Nov. 5 presidential election, according to financial reports filed on Friday.

The two campaigns are in the final stages of an extremely close presidential race. Harris, the U.S. vice president who launched her campaign in July as President Joe Biden ended his own re-election campaign and endorsed her, disclosed $174 million in spending to the Federal Election Commission last month. Former Republican President Trump's campaign separately reported $61 million in spending.

Harris's financial advantage will help her flood headlines with television ads throughout the election, but it is unlikely to guarantee victory. Many polls have the two candidates neck and neck, including in swing states that could determine the winner. In the 2016 presidential election, Trump defeated Hillary Clinton despite raising less money than the Democrat.

In August, Harris and Trump said they spent most of their money on advertising, with smaller amounts going to rallies, travel and campaign staff salaries. Harris' campaign also announced it had donated $75,000 to the Detroit Unity Fund, a nonprofit that works to increase black voter turnout in Michigan, a key electoral district this year.

Harris' entry into the race, just weeks after Biden performed poorly in a debate against Trump, led to a significant increase in donations to her campaign, which ended August with $235 million, slightly more than at the beginning of the month.

The Trump campaign dipped into its funds and ended August with $135 million, about $17 million less than at the beginning of the month.

Harris and Trump had previously disclosed their fundraising totals for the month, which included their political parties' accounts. In their official campaign reports to the Federal Election Commission, Harris reported raising $190 million in August and Trump reported $45 million.

(Reporting by Jason Lange in Washington; Editing by Tom Hogue)