By Ginger Gibson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Priorities USA, a liberal political group, raised $28 million in January, an uptick in donations as the impeachment trial of Republican President Donald Trump continues, bolstering the cash the group will spend opposing his reelection.
The group has raised or received commitments for $111 million in total for the 2020 election, on pace to exceed the $133 million it spent during the 2016 election, according to a memo circulated by Priorities USA on Friday.
The $28 million haul this month by Priorities was the second-best month of fundraising the group has ever had, only behind October 2016 when it was able to collect donations in the wake of a video revealing Trump bragging about grabbing women's genitalia that sparked outrage.
Trump's campaign frequently makes the case that the impeachment of the president has been a net positive because it has resulted in upswings in donations from supporters.
But while Trump may be seeing a boost in fundraising, the Priorities USA haul demonstrates that donors on both sides of the political aisle are opening their wallets.
The group initially promised to spend $100 million attacking Trump before the Democratic convention in July - a vow meant to help calm Democratic concerns that the party is at a disadvantage during the primary elections while Republicans are able to focus on the general election. The group will now spend $150 million after the large fundraising haul.
"Priorities is well-positioned to continue taking a leading role in the general election campaign against Donald Trump until a Democratic nominee for president has been selected," the group's chairman, Guy Cecil, said in the memo.
The field of Democratic presidential hopefuls will disclose on Friday how much money they raised and spent in the final three months of 2019, offering more insight into how donors are funding efforts to unseat Trump.
Priorities USA is a super PAC, a type of political action committee that is permitted to raise and spend unlimited sums of money but required to disclose to the public its donors. A super PAC is permitted to spend that money campaigning for or against candidates.
