Bernie Sanders Hauled in $18 Million in First Quarter Donations, Currently Leads All Democrats

The first quarter of 2019 has come to an end, and while official fundraising numbers aren’t due until the 15th, totals are rolling in from some campaigns who are eager to broadcast their numbers. The leader in the clubhouse is Bernie Sanders, and Tim Tagaris, the CEO of a progressive fundraising company called Aisle518 who works with Sanders, was the first to tweet out the good news:

In just 41 days…

Almost 900,000 donations
$20 average (wow!)
88% of money raised from donors who gave less than $200
Majority younger than 39 years old.
0 fundraising events
99.6% raised online

You did that, @BernieSanders supporters. Amazing. Let’s keep it going!

— Tim Tagaris (@ttagaris) April 2, 2019

As Common Dreams reports, the 900,000 donations came from more than 500,000 individuals. Sanders campaign manager Faiz Shakir confirmed the numbers, and said the $18 million haul puts Sanders ahead of his 2016 pace. The average donation of $20 is even lower than the famous $27 average from his last presidential campaign.

Previously, Kamala Harris reported $12 million in donations, and while her campaign didn’t specify the total number of donors, it’s interesting to note that while 99.6% of Sanders’ donations were raised online, online donations comprised only “half the total” for Harris (her average donation, $55, nearly tripled Sanders’). Beyond Harris, we know that Pete Buttigieg raised $7 million from 158,550 donors, for an average of $36.35.