Former President Trump’s mammoth political operation entered 2022 with more than $122 million in the bank, giving him an overwhelming edge over any potential rival should he mount another bid for the White House in 2024. 

Trump’s political committees raised over $51 million in the second half of 2021 alone, with a staggering 98.6 percent of it coming from small-dollar donors, according to his team. That’s significant in itself because it suggests that the former president may be somewhat insulated from any effort by major donors or party leaders to withhold funding.

Trump’s overall cash-on-hand is so massive that his affiliated political groups now have more than twice as much money in the bank as the Republican National Committee (RNC), which announced on Monday that it entered 2022 with a $56.3 million balance. 

The combined fundraising of Trump’s political committees suggests that the former president was not only able to weather the financial fallout brought about by the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol in the final weeks of his presidency, but was also able to maintain a breakneck pace in the money race.

Trump’s fundraising did slow somewhat in the second half of 2021, however. His leadership PAC, Save America, brought in about $23 million in the period from July to December. That’s down from $63 million in the first half of the year.

Still, Trump’s combined account total sets him up to be one of the most important financial players of the 2022 midterm elections. His team said that Save America distributed $1.35 million to “like-minded causes and endorsed candidates.” 

But Trump’s political operation also signaled that this year’s midterm elections, in which Republicans will try to reclaim control of the House and Senate, will not be the end for the former president, saying that Trump’s “continued and unprecedented pace of fundraising shows that the future of the Republican Party in 2022 and beyond remains, perhaps, the strongest in our Country’s history.”

“President Trump is incredibly well positioned to look beyond November as the need for his leadership has never been more important,” Taylor Budowich, a spokesperson for Trump, said in a statement.

Since leaving the White House early last year, Trump has repeatedly hinted at a potential comeback campaign in 2024 and has become only more aggressive in his maneuvering in recent months. Save America PAC spent nearly $1.5 million last year with the company that organizes his political rallies, according to Federal Election Commission (FEC) filings.

Those filings also show that Save America PAC spent over $1 million on Facebook ads, demonstrating how Trump’s political operation has been able to stay visible on the social media giant despite the former president himself being banned. 

Should Trump mount another bid for the White House in 2024, he would enter the race as the immediate favorite to win the GOP nomination. Still, that hasn’t stopped other potential Republican candidates from raising money — and spending heavily. 

Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s leadership PAC, Champion American Values PAC, pulled in roughly $2.6 million in the second half of 2021 and spent nearly $2.1 million, including much of it on fundraising consulting and advertising, federal filings show. 

Meanwhile, another potential 2024 hopeful, Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), raised nearly $7 million in the last quarter of the year and spent more than $4.2 million. While Scott is up for reelection this year, the amount he spent is notable because he’s not expected to face a particularly competitive race in 2022.