In the 24 hours since Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont announced his 2020 run for president, his campaign on Wednesday morning reports that they were able to raise nearly $6 million from 225,000 individual donors across all 50 states.
According to a statement by the campaign, exactly 223,047 individuals contributed $5,925,771—putting the total raised over the $6 million mark with an average donation of just under $27. Since putting it online early Tuesday morning, the campaign said the senator’s launch video has been viewed more than 8.3 million times across social media platforms, including 5.3 million views on Twitter alone.
The first-day results, the campaign said, show that his candidacy has “a level of grassroots support of unprecedented size and excitement, signalling the strength of the movement set on winning the Democratic nomination, defeating Donald Trump and creating a government that works for all Americans.”
I’m running for president. I am asking you to join me today as part of an unprecedented and historic grassroots campaign that will begin with at least 1 million people from across the country. Say you’re in: https://t.co/KOTx0WZqRf pic.twitter.com/T1TLH0rm26
— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) February 19, 2019
The fundraising figure dwarfs anything other Democrats in the already crowded primary field were able to generate in their opening day and speaks to the advantage Sanders has with a massive email list from his 2016 campaign and shows his ability to generate campaign revenue with small-dollar donations has not lost its shine.
After the Sanders campaign confirmed it had raised $4 million during the first 12 hours of the campaign on Tuesday night, news outlets reported this was more than double what Sen. Kamala Harris of California raised in her first 24 hours and quadruple the $1 million it took Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota to raise in 48 hours after her announcement.
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