The 2020 Democratic presidential candidates are revealing how deep and broad their support is, just after the March 31 fundraising deadline that marked the end of the first quarter of 2019.
While candidates officially have until April 15 to file their first-quarter reports, Democrats in the packed field have already begun announcing their fundraising totals, as well as who supported them, since the first quarter ended Sunday night.
Kamala Harris
California Sen. Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign has raised $12 million from more than 218,000 individual contributions in the first quarter of 2019. With the average contribution totaling $28, the Harris campaign said that over 99 percent of her donors can contribute again.
Here’s a closer look at the sources of Harris’ donations:
- 98 percent of contributions under $100
- More than $6 million through its digital program
- More than $1 million in final week of March
- 11,000 individual contributions from educators
“A nationwide network of hundreds of thousands of grassroots supporters has stepped up to lay the foundation for a winning campaign,” said Harris campaign manager Juan Rodriguez.
“This is a campaign powered by the people, focused on making health care a right, putting $500 a month in the pockets of working Americans, and giving every public school teacher in America a raise. We’re excited by the support we’re already seeing.”
Pete Buttigieg – $7 million
While he’s still in the exploratory phase of his 2020 campaign, South Bend Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg announced on Monday that initial reports showed his campaign raised over $7 million since launching his exploratory committee in January.
Buttigieg acknowledged that while many other candidates in the field may outraise him, his $7 million is a big deal for what’s been seen as an “underdog project.”
“We are not part of the national political machine. We started with just about 20,000 people on our email list, and not many people even knew who I was. But as more and more people around the country begin to hear our bold vision for the future, more and more people are investing in this effort,” Buttigieg said in a statement on Monday.
“With a first fundraising report like this, we certainly cannot be ignored,” he said.
