Politics
One Area Where Biden Is Leading Trump: His Number of Donors
President Biden may be struggling in national polls, but he recently overtook former President Donald J. Trump in at least one important measure: the total number of donors who have given to his campaign, which is often seen as a proxy for voter engagement.
Where each candidate has more donors or
fewer donors compared with 2020, by county
Across most of the country, Mr. Trump has fewer donors than he did at the same time in 2020, while Mr. Biden has more.
Detailed maps of where people have donated to the Trump and Biden campaigns in 2024 and in 2020 show that Mr. Biden is overperforming and that Mr. Trump is underperforming in many of the battleground states they will need to win, in comparison with where they were at this point in the 2020 cycle.
As of the end of March, Mr. Biden had 1.1 million unique individual donors, compared with one million for Mr. Trump. The difference is apparent in their total fund-raising hauls: Mr. Biden’s campaign committee has taken in nearly $160 million so far in this election cycle, compared with Mr. Trump’s $114 million.
The rematch between the two candidates offers an unusual opportunity for comparison. A New York Times analysis of data on individual donors from filings with the Federal Election Commission shows that Mr. Trump had fewer individual donors at the end of March than he did at the same time in 2020, while Mr. Biden had more than he did in 2020.
Note: Lines show the total number of unique individual donors who gave to either Trump or Biden by the date of their first donation.
The New York Times
Mr. Biden’s robust fund-raising is in stark contrast to his weakness in the polls. New surveys from The Times, Siena College and The Philadelphia Inquirer show him trailing Mr. Trump in several crucial battleground states, as Mr. Biden’s popularity has eroded among young people and voters of color.
The two candidates’ positions have reversed since March 2020, when Mr. Trump was running for re-election and Mr. Biden was closing in on his party’s nomination.
Mr. Biden was a late-breaking favorite in the 2020 primary race, having lagged for months in the polls behind his Democratic rivals. He became the party’s presumptive nominee on April 8, after the withdrawal of Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont.
This year, Mr. Trump was long the prohibitive favorite in the Republican primary race, but did not become the presumptive nominee until early March, when his last opponent, Nikki Haley, bowed out of the contest.
The changing circumstances between March 2020 and this year are also apparent outside of battleground states, when total donors to both candidates are compared with the previous cycle.
In Delaware, Mr. Biden has roughly twice as many donors as Mr. Trump, an analysis of contributions by ZIP codes shows. But compared with March 2020, he has lost ground to Mr. Trump – which makes sense, because Mr. Biden’s home state was the early donor engine of his primary campaign in 2019 and early 2020.
Where each candidate has more donors or
fewer donors compared with 2020, by ZIP code
In New York City, Mr. Biden had a slight rise in donors relative to March 2020, while his number of donors in Manhattan has fallen steeply. The shift likely reflects his late emergence at the time as the party’s nominee. Mr. Trump has picked up donor support just outside the city on Long Island, which has been trending toward the Republican Party.
Where each candidate has more donors or
fewer donors compared with 2020, by ZIP code
In Arizona, which is a battleground state in 2024, Mr. Biden has picked up donors. He won the state in 2020 but trails Mr. Trump in 2024 polls there.
On close inspection, a few ZIP codes stand out. At the end of March 2020, Mr. Biden had about 150 donors in the ZIP code 86001, which makes up part of Flagstaff. This year, he had almost 300. Mr. Trump’s donors there declined to about 130 from about 150. Many ZIP codes around Tucson, Phoenix and Scottsdale also had an increase in Biden donors.
In neighboring Nevada, Mr. Trump has generally drawn more donors in the Las Vegas area than he did in 2020. The Times’s latest polls found that Mr. Biden’s support in that state had dropped from 2020.
Where each candidate has more donors or
fewer donors compared with 2020, by ZIP code
In Michigan, Mr. Biden had about 11 percent more donors than in 2020, driven by gains around Ann Arbor and in more traditionally conservative western parts of the state. But Mr. Biden did not gain donors in Dearborn, which has more residents with Middle Eastern ancestry or in Detroit, which is majority Black. Mr. Trump’s number of donors in the state fell by 8 percent, mostly because of dips in the Detroit suburbs and near Grand Rapids.
The latest Times/Siena polls show Mr. Trump leading among registered voters in Michigan, another battleground state.
Where each candidate has more donors orNorth Carolina and South Carolina
fewer donors compared with 2020, by ZIP code
The shifts in North Carolina and South Carolina are another illustration of how circumstances have changed for the two candidates. In South Carolina, Mr. Biden has lost donors compared with where he was in 2020, which makes sense: In 2020, the state had a competitive Democratic primary, which Mr. Biden won, setting off his march to the nomination. This year, it was Mr. Trump who had the competitive primary in South Carolina.
In North Carolina, a battleground state, Mr. Biden has gained donors relative to Mr. Trump since 2020. This could be welcome news for Democrats, who see the state as potentially winnable for Mr. Biden, after Mr. Trump won it narrowly in 2020.
Notes: Bars show the estimated number of individual donors who have given to each candidate in each state as of March 31. Numbers are estimates because of potential duplicate names or changes of address within the data.
The New York Times Methodology
Data includes donations reported to the Federal Election Commission by the Trump 2020 campaign, the Trump 2024 campaign, Trump Make America Great Again Committee, the Trump Victory joint fund-raising committee, Trump Save America Joint Fundraising Committee, Trump 47 Committee, Trump National Committee JFC, the Biden campaign, the Biden Victory Fund joint fund-raising committee and the Biden Action Fund joint fund-raising committee. Additional donations processed on behalf of those committees and reported by the online fund-raising platforms ActBlue and WinRed are also included.
The estimated number of individual donors was determined based on a unique combination of contributor name, state and ZIP code. Donors with invalid addresses were filtered out of the analysis. Dates of first donation were determined by the earliest contribution date for a unique individual donor to a 2020 or 2024 committee affiliated with either candidate.
Donations are counted through March 31 starting from the earliest announcement by one of the two candidates each cycle: April 25, 2019, for Mr. Biden in the 2020 cycle and November 15, 2022, for Mr. Trump in the 2024 cycle. Areas where the number of donors changed by five or fewer are not shown.
Donors in battleground states in the 2024 cycle
Politics
Trump calls on Arab nations to sign Abraham Accords
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President Donald Trump is pressuring Muslim-majority nations to join the Abraham Accords if they want to participate in a developing Iran agreement, according to multiple reports.
The Abraham Accords are a series of agreements aimed at normalizing diplomatic relations between Israel and several Arab and Muslim-majority nations.
PRESIDENT TRUMP SAYS DEAL WITH IRAN IS ‘LARGELY NEGOTIATED’
President Donald Trump attends and claps during the signing ceremony of the Peace Charter for Gaza at the 56th World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Jan. 22, 2026. (Harun Ozalp/Anadolu)
Trump said Saturday that he urged Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Egypt, Pakistan, Turkey and Jordan to normalize relations with Israel during a phone call with regional leaders.
“I stated that, after all the work done by the United States to try and pull this very complex puzzle together, it should be mandatory that all of these Countries, at a minimum, simultaneously, sign onto the Abraham Accords,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
TRUMP SAYS MORE NATIONS LINING UP TO JOIN ABRAHAM ACCORDS AFTER KAZAKHSTAN
President Donald Trump holds a press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Fla., on Dec. 29, 2025. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
The president also said he planned to speak with the leaders of the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.
The UAE and Bahrain became the first two nations to sign the accords in 2020.
Trump also floated the idea that Iran could eventually become part of the Abraham Accords.
US MILITARY IS ‘IRON SHIELD’ PROTECTING AMERICAN BASES, LIVES FROM IRAN PROXIES: HEGSETH
President Donald Trump and Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia pause for photographs along the West Wing Colonnade at the White House in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 18, 2025. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
“In speaking to numerous of the Great Leaders mentioned above, they would be honored, as soon as our Document is signed, to have the Islamic Republic of Iran as part of the Abraham Accords. Wow, now that would be something special,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
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U.S. and Israeli officials do not expect the UAE to move forward on the issue until after Israel’s elections in September.
Politics
Southern California could get 85% of its water locally and avoid Delta tunnel, groups say
A coalition of conservation groups wants Southern California to get 85% of its water locally, up from the 50% it gets now, by 2045, and says a new plan shows how.
It’s urging state leaders to scrap plans for a 45-mile tunnel beneath the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta and consider asking voters to approve a bond measure to fund local water solutions. The 34-page strategy was released as critical decisions loom for local officials, California’s next governor and legislators.
Over the last century, Southern California has grown and thrived thanks to giant aqueducts it built to bring water from hundreds of miles away — the Eastern Sierra, the Colorado River and Northern California.
But with water costs rising and climate change jeopardizing these distant sources, there is growing interest in finding ways to get more water locally.
The allied groups are calling for recycling more wastewater, capturing more stormwater, improving efficiency and cleaning up contaminated groundwater.
“We have to prioritize our investments, and prioritizing them in local water makes the most sense,” said Bruce Reznik, executive director of the group Los Angeles Waterkeeper.
The coalition includes fishing groups, environmental organizations and Northern California’s Winnemem Wintu Tribe.
Its plan calls for a “new urban water renaissance” in California that prioritizes local water. This approach would reliably yield more and cost far less than Gov. Gavin Newsom’s proposed Delta Conveyance Project beneath the Delta.
The state estimated in 2024 the tunnel would cost $20.1 billion, but opponents say it could cost three to five times more.
“Local water is reliable, it’s more affordable, and it’s more flexible, so that we’re not committing California ratepayers to higher bills that they don’t need,” said Kyle Jones, a water expert and consultant who helped prepare the plan for the coalition.
Southern California imports about half of its water from other regions.
The coalition’s plan says the region can secure up to 2 million acre-feet of local water per year. It estimates the costs of more conservation and efficiency, more stormwater and groundwater cleaning, and more water recycling at $44 billion over two decades. The Delta tunnel, in contrast, could cost $60 billion to $100 billion, it says.
Whether the tunnel project is ultimately built may hinge on whether large water agencies, including the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, decide to participate and pay for it.
1. Cranes rise above the Donald C. Tillman Water Reclamation Plant in Van Nuys. 2. When completed, Los Angeles will nearly double recycled water for 500,000 residents. 3. Storage tanks sit behind a fence before being placed in the ground at the plant. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
“Metropolitan Water District really does have a significant choice on it, that not just impacts their ratepayers but impacts every single person in the state,” said Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla, executive director of the group Restore the Delta. “Are we going to spend $20, $60, maybe upward to $100 million on a tunnel? Or are we going to invest significant money in local solutions that provide water resiliency and sustainability for everyone in California? That is what is at stake right now.”
The Metropolitan Water District already is planning a large new facility in Carson to transform wastewater into purified drinking water. Los Angeles and San Diego are also building water recycling plants.
“At the same time, water imported from the northern Sierra and the Colorado River provides the foundation of water supply reliability for Southern California,” said Shivaji Deshmukh, the MWD’s general manager.
He noted that the MWD invests in water efficiency and capturing stormwater, and has helped reduce per-person water use by more than 40% since 1990.
The agency’s 38-member board last year adopted a climate adaptation strategy that sets goals for lining up additional water.
Los Angeles city leaders and L.A. County supervisors have also set goals for becoming more locally self-sufficient.
The advocates who wrote the policy plan said these efforts should accelerate and expand. They pointed out that the Colorado River’s reservoirs are falling to perilously low levels, and native fish in the Delta are in decline as the pumping of water takes an ecological toll.
“Climate change is exacerbating the challenges in those ecosystems, meaning that less and less water will be available to import,” said Ashley Overhouse, water policy advisor for the group Defenders of Wildlife. “All the while, the cost of water is continuing to rise.”
About 20 other environmental groups endorsed the coalition’s strategy.
“We have got to do a better job in the next 100 years than we did in the last 100 years, if we truly want to create a place of abundance once again,” said Frankie Myers, a member of the Yurok Tribe in Northern California. “This idea that we can steal … and divert water however we want with no consequences has got to end.”
Construction continues at the Donald C. Tillman Water Reclamation Plant in Van Nuys in October 2025.
(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)
Benjamin Bass, a UCLA scientist who studies how climate change is affecting the Colorado River and other water sources, joined the group as they presented their proposal in an online briefing.
“Traditional sources for imported water are less reliable than they used to be,” Bass said. “The most reliable source of water in the future is local water.”
Other experts have reached similar conclusions.
Researchers at the Pacific Institute, a water think tank in Oakland, have examined improvements such as fixing leaks in pipes, switching out inefficient washing machines and toilets, and replacing thirsty lawns with plants suited to the state’s Mediterranean climate.
In a 2022 report, they found that a set of standard practices and technologies could reduce total urban water use by 30% or more.
Politics
5 Big Moments in the Texas Republican Senate Race
After a heated and expensive campaign, the Republican Senate race in Texas between Senator John Cornyn and state Attorney General Ken Paxton will culminate in a runoff on Tuesday.
Mr. Cornyn, who has had a long career in Texas Republican politics and who has been an occasional critic of President Trump, is fighting for political survival against Mr. Paxton, who has been a magnet for scandal and recently won the president’s endorsement, giving him a big boost heading into the final stretch.
The race has been full of twists and turns. Here are five big moments from one of the marquee G.O.P. contests of the 2026 election cycle:
April 2025: Mr. Paxton announces his primary challenge against Mr. Cornyn
After weeks of teasing a potential bid to unseat Mr. Cornyn, Mr. Paxton officially announced his run in an interview on Fox News and published his campaign website, which prominently featured a photo of him with Mr. Trump.
Why it mattered: Mr. Paxton’s candidacy ensured that Mr. Cornyn would have a high-profile, MAGA-aligned challenger running to his right. Though Mr. Paxton had undergone an impeachment trial in 2023 over corruption allegations, he survived and positioned himself as the preferred candidate of the conservative base in Texas. Immediately, the contest became a high-profile test of the mood of the G.O.P. in Mr. Trump’s second term.
July 2025: Angela Paxton, a Texas state senator, announces that she is seeking a divorce and accuses Mr. Paxton of adultery
Just a few months after Mr. Paxton’s campaign announcement, Ms. Paxton announced that she was seeking a divorce from Mr. Paxton “on biblical grounds.” She attributed the impetus for her decision to “recent discoveries,” and the divorce petition she filed in court said the “respondent has committed adultery.” Mr. Paxton said the relationship had been strained by the pressure of public life and requested privacy.
Why it mattered: Mr. Cornyn’s camp and his allies seized on the allegations and began using them against Mr. Paxton. Mr. Cornyn suggested that the primary would become “a test of character” for his opponent.
October 2025: Representative Wesley Hunt enters the race
Mr. Hunt, one of the first Black Republicans to represent Texas in Congress, entered the race relatively late, offering himself as an alternative to what he called “the blood feud between Ken Paxton and John Cornyn.” Mr. Hunt specifically targeted Mr. Cornyn’s campaign, saying that his first priority if elected would be to repeal a bipartisan gun control measure that Mr. Cornyn had helped negotiate.
Why it mattered: Mr. Hunt’s candidacy created a three-way race that raised the likelihood of a runoff for the top two finishers, which is triggered in Texas if no candidate wins a majority in the primary. Mr. Cornyn’s campaign immediately attacked Mr. Hunt once he announced his campaign, while Mr. Paxton’s campaign welcomed the new Republican challenger.
March 2026: Mr. Cornyn finishes first in the primary, but falls short of a majority
Mr. Cornyn, powered by a substantial cash advantage, finished with about 42 percent of the vote, just ahead of Mr. Paxton, who won more than 40 percent of the vote. Mr. Hunt finished a distant third and was eliminated.
Why it mattered: In some ways, this was one of the highest points of Mr. Cornyn’s campaign. He secured a first-place finish ahead of Mr. Paxton. At the same time, his showing was not enough to spare him a runoff, and it was not enough to win an endorsement from Mr. Trump that some allies had hoped would soon follow.
May 2026: President Trump endorses Mr. Paxton
Though the president initially considered backing Mr. Cornyn after the primary in March, Mr. Trump ultimately decided to back Mr. Paxton, praising the state attorney general’s loyalty and unwavering support.
Why it mattered: Mr. Trump’s endorsement continues to be the most powerful stamp of approval in Republican contests, even as the president’s approval rating among all voters has sunk to a second term low. Tuesday’s vote will be an immediate test of the value of the endorsement. A Paxton win would be a victory for Mr. Trump. But in the eyes of some other national Republicans, it would weaken the party’s chances in the general election.
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