Several of the Democrat presidential candidates are showing off the funds they have raised during the first round of fundraising campaign. The presidential primary election will be held in the next spring. Funds raised until March 31 show the progress of the candidates in the presidential campaign.
Sen. Bernie Sanders is head to head with Joe Biden, the ex-Vice President, on numerous surveys of the prospective Democrat primary voters. But the Sanders campaign operation is raking much more in cash than Biden’s.
The senator from Vermont showed a surprisingly hefty fundraising 4 years ago in his challenge to the Democrat presidential nominee at that time, Hillary Clinton. He has raised 18 million dollars in the forty-one days from the launch of his official campaign to March 31st. It gives him an accessible amount of cash of around $28 million.
These aggregates will definitely put pressure on other big shots in the Democratic field. This also includes Biden who still has to decide whether he will run for the president or not. He is also dealing with the acquisitions of inappropriate behavior toward women.
Kamala Harris scored $12 million and Beto O’Rourke hauled in $9 million, while Pete Buttigieg raised $7 million.
The campaign of Bernie Sanders has reported that the Democratic presidential nominee has raised $18 million during the first quarter of this year through more than 900,000 donations. Thus the senator belonging to Vermont leads the first-quarter fundraising aggregates put out by his rivals.
Candidates have to disclose the number of funds raised in the first quarter. They have until April 15 to do so. However, Beto O’Rourke former Texas Representative, the Democratic South Bend Indiana mayor Pete Buttigieg and Senator Kamala Harris from California Democratic along with Sanders have already reported their funding efforts.
Over the last two months, the response to our campaign has been inspiring:
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) April 2, 2019
– $12 million raised
– 218,000 individual contributions
– 99% of donors can give again
No corporate PACs. No federal lobbyists. A real, grassroots campaign — by the people and for the people.
The presidential campaign of Harris reported that she has raised about $12 million from over 218,000 individual contributions in the first quarter.
In just 18 days, you’ve proven the power of people everywhere joining together to run a true grassroots campaign:
— Beto O’Rourke (@BetoORourke) April 3, 2019
✅$9.4 million raised
✅218,000 contributions
✅98% of donations under $200
✅99% of fundraising via online
✅$0 from PACs, special interests, lobbyists &corporations
The O’Rourke’s team reported that he got $9 million in the first quarter from 218,000 or more contributions. They further reported that a big part of that money, almost $6 million, came within the first twenty-four hours after his official announcement to run for the presidential election on March 14th. Buttigieg reported he raised $7 million or more from almost 159,000 individual contributions.
Our Q1 fundraising numbers. THANK YOU. This campaign has come so far. We are changing the conversation and we can do so much. There’s a new type of economy on the horizon 😁🇺🇸👍🏽 pic.twitter.com/x2FhLpp8K6
— Andrew Yang (@AndrewYang) April 2, 2019
The campaign of Andrew Yang reported decent fundraising too. According to them, they got $1.7 million from more than 80,000 donors.
The Bernie Sanders campaign has reported that it took almost 21 weeks in 2015 to raise $18 million for the 2016 presidential campaign’s in its early stages.
According to the national editor of the Cook Political Report, Amy Walter, very few candidates filed the reports of their fundraising by the first quarter of 2015 in the 2016 presidential campaign.
However, Walter stated that all the candidates had filed their reports by the second quarter of 2015. The reports disclosed that Hillary Clinton raised $47.5 million in this period, Bernie Sanders got $15 million, Donald Trump $1.9 million and Jeb Bush $11 million.
The fundraising heft of Sanders has raised the bar for all contenders and will shake up the other big shots in the field. Especially, senators like Harris, Minnesota’s Amy Klobuchar, New Jersey’s Cory Booker, New York’s Kirsten Gillibrand, and Massachusetts’ Elizabeth Warren.
According to Sanders, he has held no traditional fundraisers. The average donation he received is around $20 which is less than one percent of the maximum $2,800. Sanders’ campaign reported that the senator hauled 88 percent of the money from the donors who donated $200.
Buttigieg reported his contributions are on average around $36, 64% of which comes from the donors who contribute $200. Entrepreneur Andrew Yang, who never got a chance to hold political office, was able to raise only $1.7 million. He reported that over 80,000 donors contributed an average of $18.
This trend shows that the politicians are adopting a progressive and modern base, which has distrust and suspicion towards the big-money contributors.
Take the example of Warren who is one of the favorites but has promised that she will finance her campaign and will not depend upon traditional donors.
The primaries are about to start in 10 months. The reports say that most of the Democratic voters have yet to decide their vote and are not giving much attention to the upcoming elections. However, early fundraisings are critical and the poll numbers also indicate that white men will lead the campaign. Harris has managed to raise hefty funds from donations. It is a good sign for those who want to see a female president, though opinion polls show that Democrats will go for an electable candidate to defeat Trump.
