Bernie Sanders raises $24 million as White House battle heats up
Sen. Bernie Sanders' campaign announced Tuesday that it had raised a combined $24 million in the second quarter of 2019, exceeding their total from the first quarter and ending June with nearly $30 million cash on hand.
The funds come from $18 million in donations and $6 million transferred from previous accounts, such as Sanders' 2016 campaign cache. According to the campaign, the average donation was $18 and nearly all of their donors can give again, per Federal Election Commission rules.
"It took us a while to reach this point in 2015," campaign manager Faiz Shakir said in a call with reporters Tuesday. "It wasn't until December of 2015 in the Bernie Sanders campaign that we had reached a million contributions."
Shakir said the campaign received almost one million individual contributions over the past three months alone, 99% of which were $100 or less. Additionally, more than 225,000 donations were from people in the first five voting states, and 45% of donors were 39 years old or under.
The campaign also said donations came most frequently from teachers and Walmart employees. Sanders spoke to the Walmart board of directors last month, on behalf of employees.
Sanders raised $18.2 million last quarter and had $28 million cash on hand after announcing his second bid for the White House in February.
Sanders' second quarter fundraising announcement comes just one day after South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg's campaign revealed it had raised $24.8 million dollars in the second quarter of 2019. In a Monday interview with CBSN, Sanders' campaign manager Faiz Shakir confirmed Buttigieg likely raised more money than the Vermont senator, but pointed out that Sanders does not attend high-dollar fundraisers like some of his opponents.
On Tuesday, President Trump's reelection campaign announced raising a combined $105 million in the second quarter, along with his political committees and the Republican National Committee. Besides Buttigieg and Mr. Trump, no other presidential hopefuls have yet announced their second quarter cash hauls. Candidates have until July 15th to file with the FEC.