Hillary Clinton Rakes in the Dough for October, Donald Trump Isn't Opening His Checkbook and More

The final push before Election Day is just as much about cash as it is about energy. And as far as that goes, Donald Trump is in bad shape. According to new filings with the Federal Election Commission, Trump raised just $28.9 million for his campaign in the last month, a fall-off from September, while Hillary Clinton ratcheted up her intake, bringing in $57.2 million. In terms of cash on hand, Trump has $16 million, compared to Clinton’s $62 million.

Trump, in an apparent acknowledgement of the shortfall, said he would be willing to put as much as $100 million of his own money into the campaign. That would mean opening his wallet and pulling out another $44 million in the last 11 days before Nov. 8 — something that doesn't seem entirely likely.

Top Stories

Clinton Doubles Trump’s October Fundraising and Has Dominant War Chest in Race’s Final Days: "Donald Trump raised about half as much as Hillary Clinton for his presidential campaign committee in the first 19 days of October, putting him at a severe financial disadvantage in the crucial final days of the White House contest, campaign finance reports filed late Thursday show." (The Washington Post)

Donald Trump Isn't Opening His Checkbook to Save His Campaign: "If Donald Trump were to honor his pledge to spend $100 million of his own money on his campaign, he would have to invest and spend $44 million at breakneck speed. And even then, Republicans warn, it would not do much good." (CNN)

Clinton Eyes Biden for Secretary of State: "Joe Biden is at the top of the internal short list Hillary Clinton’s transition team is preparing for her pick to be secretary of state, a source familiar with the planning tells Politico." (Politico)

Mike Pence Campaign Airplane Skids Off Runway in NYC, No One Injured: "The campaign plane for Republican vice presidential candidate Mike Pence skidded off the runway at LaGuardia Airport on Thursday just before 8 p.m., but no one was injured in the accident, according to officials. It had rained in the city all day, heavily at the time of the incident." (Patch)

From the Twitterverse

Sen. Mark Kirk of Illinois, in a debate against disabled Iraq vet and Congresswoman Tammy Duckworth, attempted to strike her on her heritage. Her father, who died in 2005, was a U.S. Marine Corps veteran and could trace his family's American roots to before the Revolutionary War.

On the Radar

• Donald Trump has rallies in Maine, New Hampshire and Iowa.
• Hillary Clinton has two campaign events in Iowa.
• Mike Pence will campaign in Pennsylvania.
• Tim Kaine will hold rallies in Florida.

Today's Numbers

• 11 days until Election Day 2016.
• Dakota Access protesters removed from private land and more than 100 arrested after standoff with police.
• Nine athletes, six of whom won medals, have been disqualified from the 2008 Beijing Olympics after their doping samples were retested and failed.
• Hillary Clinton has an 82.2 percent chance of winning the presidency, according to FiveThirtyEight.

Quote of the Day

Donald Trump wondering why we even need Election Day:

“And just thinking to myself right now, we should just cancel the election and just give it to Trump, right? What are we even having it for? What are we having it for?”

Allen McDuffee is a politics and policy reporter, investigative journalist, blogger and podcast host. He has written for The Atlantic, Wired and The Washington Post. Follow him on Twitter: @AllenMcDuffee

Photo credit: Gage Skidmore via Flickr Commons