Sen. Bernard Sanders on Tuesday reminded his rivals that he remains a fundraising force in the 2020 Democratic presidential race, setting the bar by raking in more than $25 million over the third fundraising quarter of the campaign.
Pete Buttigieg, mayor of South Bend, Indiana, pulled in $19 million over the last three months, while Sen. Kamala D. Harris of California raised $11.6 million and Sen. Cory A. Booker of New Jersey raised $6 million.
They all pale in comparison to President Trump, whose campaign and the Republican National Committee raised $125 million in the quarter, a presidential fundraising record.
The campaigns were the first to share their fundraising reports, which covered July 1 to Sept. 30.
The third-quarter filing deadline is Oct. 15 and the reports will provide a better sense of which of the remaining 19 contenders have staying power.
The Sanders camp said the Vermont lawmaker showed the tales of his demise have been greatly exaggerated.
“Media elites and professional pundits have tried repeatedly to dismiss this campaign, and yet working-class Americans keep saying loudly and clearly that they want a political revolution,” said Faiz Shakir, Mr. Sanders’ campaign manager.
Since entering the race, Mr. Sanders has raised more than $61 million from over 3.3 million people, according to his campaign. The average donation has been $19.
Mr. Buttigieg, meanwhile, has raised $51 million this year from 1.25 million donations. The average donation came in around $40, his campaign said.
“People continue to be drawn to Pete and his vision of bridging our divides and to his bold plans to move our country forward, and our campaign has grown exponentially faster than any other candidate in the 2020 field,” said Mike Schmuhl, Mr. Buttigieg’s campaign manager.
Over the last three months, Mr. Buttigieg has expanded his campaign staff to 400 people, including 100 in Iowa, 64 in New Hampshire, 35 in Nevada and 33 in South Carolina.
The 37-year-old has had more staying power than some expected since entering the race as a two-term mayor of an Indiana city of just over 100,000 people.
But he fell short of repeating his impressive $24 million haul in the second quarter and remains stuck in a second-tier of contenders — trailing former Vice President Joseph R. Biden, Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Mr. Sanders, who placed second in the 2016 primary race.
Ms. Harris said Tuesday she will enter the final months of the year with $10 million in the bank, and that her campaign is making big investments on the ground.
Ms. Harris’ campaign announced last month it was adopting an Iowa-or-bust strategy.
Mr. Booker, meanwhile, posted his best quarter of the presidential race after warning supporters that he didn’t see a path forward unless he could raise $1.7 million over the final 10 days of the quarter.
Booker campaign manager Addisu Demissie said Mr. Booker surpassed that goal, pulling in more than $2 million, and said it shows that he is “on the rise.”
“What the last 10 days have done is put us firmly in the game,” Mr. Demissie said.
• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.