WASHINGTON (US) – Republicans are trying to raise at least $60 million to fund legal challenges brought by President Donald Trump over the presidential election’s results, three sources familiar with the matter said on Friday.
Trump’s campaign has a filed lawsuits in several states over Tuesday’s election, as Democratic challenger Joe Biden edged closer to winning the White House, extending his leads in battleground states.
“They want $60 million,” said a Republican donor who received solicitations from the campaign and the Republican National Committee (RNC).
Two other sources said the campaign wanted as much as $100 million for the joint fundraising committee it maintains with the RNC, a sign of the scale of the legal fight the campaign expects to mount.
All three sources spoke about the requests for money on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter. The Trump campaign and the RNC did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The call for funds comes as the Trump and Biden campaigns gird for a potentially protracted legal battle.
Since voting ended on Tuesday, the Trump campaign has sent out email and text solicitations alleging foul play and seeking donations, although the fine print indicates that more than half of the money raised would go to paying down the campaign’s debts.
Trump, who started the race with a strong financial advantage, ended his campaign struggling to keep up with the Biden fundraising juggernaut.
A Trump adviser described the campaign’s litigation strategy thus far as chaotic, disorganised and a “disservice to the president.”
