Independent Vermont Sen.Bernie Sanders’ daily average fundraising track record numbers after his announcement could give him an advantage over former Texas Democratic Rep. Beto O’Rourke in the 2020 presidential primary.
U.S. presidential candidate and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders speaks during a campaign rally at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines, Iowa, U.S. March 9, 2019. REUTERS/Scott Morgan
Initially reported numbers show Sanders raising approximately $300,000-per-day after his official announcement with O’Rourke raising only $200,000-per-day. The $100,000-per-day advantage puts Sanders on track to raise $9 million more than O’Rourke in the next quarter if the current daily average holds, FiveThirtyEight editor-in-chief Nate Silver noted Wednesday.
So Bernie raised ~$300k per day *following* his initial, 24-hour announcement burst, while Beto raised ~$200k per day following his.
Both those totals are good but not spectacular (especially for Beto). Would work out to $27m per quarter for Bernie and $18m per quarter for Beto.
— Nate Silver (@NateSilver538) April 3, 2019
Sanders campaign announced Wednesday that he raised $18.2 million in the first quarter of 2019 with over 900,000 contributors. The results were a slight disappointment as the senator said previously that he hoped to have at least 1 million contributors in his first quarter.
Sander’s haul is of little surprise given the nearly $200 million he raised during the 2016 presidential primary against Hillary Clinton. (RELATED: Bernie Sanders’ Campaign Raises $18.2 Million)
1 million volunteers signed up.
$18.2 million raised.
900,000 individual contributions.That’s the strength of our movement so far. Help us keep the momentum! Sign up to host an Organizing Kickoff event on April 27. #OrganizeWithBernie https://t.co/TUTI92gHd7
— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) April 3, 2019
Democratic presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke talks with voters during his second day of campaigning for the 2020 nomination (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
O’Rourke further announced that he had raised $9.4 million with 218,000 contributors since his announcement. Excluding the initial $6 million number his campaign is raising approximately $200,000-per-day.
In just 18 days, you’ve proven the power of people everywhere joining together to run a true grassroots campaign:
✅$9.4 million raised
✅218,000 contributions
✅98% of donations under $200
✅99% of fundraising via online
✅$0 from PACs, special interests, lobbyists &corporations— Beto O’Rourke (@BetoORourke) April 3, 2019
The results put Sanders and O’Rourke at the absolute top of the field going into the 2020 Democratic primary, beating their nearest rivals in daily totals several times over. The pair are beating other top-tier candidates including California Democratic Sen. Kamala Harris and South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg.
Since candidates announced at different times, averages are a better way to gauge fundraising strength this quarter:
O’Rourke raised $522k per day
Sanders raised $439k per day
Harris raised $171k per day
Buttigieg raised $103k per day
Yang raised $29k per day#2020Election https://t.co/gJTCyMeB26— Andrew Roth (@RothTheReporter) April 3, 2019