(Forbes) By raising $34.5 million in the last three months of 2019, Bernie Sanders leads Democratic presidential candidates in fundraising totals for the second quarter in a row so far—but President Trump and the Republican National Committee’s (RNC) $308 million reelection coffers far outstrips any of the Democrats as the 2020 election heats up.
- The Sanders campaign says its Q4 haul (which beat the $25.3 million he brought in for Q3) consists of 1.8 million donations at an average of $18.53 per contribution.
- Pete Buttigieg brought in $24.7 million for the fourth quarter, beating his Q3 total of$19.1 million.
- Joe Biden reported $22.7 million in donations for Q4, topping the $15.2 million his campaign generated in Q3.
- Elizabeth Warren slightly trailed Biden with $21.2 million. Warren also slightly trailed her Q3 total of $24.7 million.
- Andrew Yang also beat his $10 million Q3 haul, with $16.5 million raised in Q4.
- Amy Klobuchar reported Friday that her campaign raised $11.4 million, more than twice her Q3 total of $4.8 million.
- The New York Times reported that Sanders earmarked tens of millions in funds for TV ads in the first four states to hold primaries or caucuses, as well as California.
- Sanders, who has long trumpeted his grassroots fundraising style, is at an advantage when it comes to those small donors: The Times said 99.99% of them have not maxed out the legally-capped amount of $2,800, which means they can give over and over again.
- But Trump raised $46 million in Q4, and. along with the RNC and other committees, raised a formidable $308 million as of Q3, with $156 million cash in hand for his reelection effort, which could give the president a considerable edge heading into November.
Big number: 5 million. That’s how individual donations Sanders’ campaign has received since he entered the race last February, which he claims was more “than any campaign has received at this point in a presidential election in the history of our country.”
What to watch for: Q4 fundraising reports from Joe Biden, Elizabeth Warren, Michael Bloomberg and the nine other Democrats still running for the nomination.
Key background: Election law requires candidates to report their fundraising totals once every quarter. Besides needing funds to run their campaigns, candidates need to hit a specific donor and polling threshold to qualify for televised debates. In October, 12 qualified. By the end of December, seven candidates met the requirements. For the upcoming January 14 debate, five candidates so far (Sanders, Biden, Warren, Buttigieg and Amy Klobuchar) are set to take the stage. Despite suffering a heart attack in November, Sanders’ campaign seems stronger than ever—recent reports by Politico and Vanity Fair say Sanders has captured the attention of Democratic Party insiders, which could help him secure the nomination.
