Bernie Sanders and Kamala Harris Post Big Numbers in Q1 Fundraising

We reported yesterday that up-and-coming candidate Pete Buttigieg raised over $7 million during the first quarter of 2019 for his presidential campaign. The number is fantastic for a small-name candidate making a big splash on the national scene.

However, the big numbers are starting to roll out for the top tier campaigns and reports indicate that Bernie Sanders took in over $18 million during the first quarter leaving him firmly in the lead when it comes to fundraising and cash on hand.

Report on Bernie’s fundraising from CBS News:

Sen. Bernie Sanders, considered to be one of the frontrunners early in the Democratic presidential primary race, raised $18.2 million in campaign donations in the first quarter Tuesday.

According to campaign manager Faiz Shakir, this $18.2 million was raised with almost 900,000 individual donations, from 525,000 contributors. The average donation was $20, and 99.5% of the donations were $100 or less. Shakir said that a majority of the donors are under 39 years old.

Shakir said that the Sanders has campaign has $28 million in cash on hand.

Starting the campaign with $28 million in the bank is a great start for Bernie and leaves him in a good position heading into the next quarter.

Kamala Harris released numbers on Monday and while she fell short of Bernie, the numbers are very healthy and indicate a good level of fundraising ability for the California Senator:

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.

“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.

Harris is expected to compete in the top tier of the campaign given her political contacts and the reputation she’s built with progressive activists during her time in the Senate.

Campaigns have until April 15 to release their full first quarter fundraising reports.