Dubuque Credit: File: Paul Heintz

Updated February 20, 2019, at 10:50 a.m.

Within 24 hours of joining the race for president Tuesday, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) reeled in more than $5.9 million, according to his campaign. The money came from roughly 223,000 individual donors.

The campaign said it also signed up $600,000 worth of recurring, monthly donations.

Sanders’ fundraising haul shatters this cycle’s record, which was briefly held by Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.). In her first day on the trail last month, Harris picked up $1.5 million from 38,000 donors.

Four years earlier, Sanders himself raised $1.5 million from 100,000 donors on the day he joined the 2016 race for the Democratic nomination. By the end of that campaign, he had raised more than $234 million.

In his announcement Tuesday morning, Sanders called for a million voters to pledge their support. His campaign said that 330,000 had done so by Tuesday evening. His announcement video was viewed by more than 5.7 million people that day on social media.

Got something to say?

Send a letter to the editor and we'll publish your feedback in print!

Paul Heintz was part of the Seven Days news team from 2012 to 2020. He served as political editor and wrote the "Fair Game" political column before becoming a staff writer.

8 replies on “Bernie Sanders Raises Nearly $6 Million on Day One of His Presidential Campaign”

  1. One correction to the article: it says “presidential campaign” where it should say “swindle.”

  2. To all the naysayers, Bernie appeals not on the basis of what he is but on who he is, a man with a lifelong drive to better the lives of all the marginalized people in this country. Identity politics gripe that he’s not a woman or a POC. When one of those steps forward with a similar foundation in ethos, say another MLK Jr or Cesar Chavez, he will undoubtedly step aside. But all the johnny-come-latelies just give lip service to what he stands for. He is the direct heir of MLK Jr’s move toward a more socialist answer to the problems we face, and America is responding. Sorry, sourpusses, he’s leading a movement.

  3. Is his wife in charge of the donation pledges like she was for the Burlington college??? Just saying…things do repeat themselves..

  4. “Better than Trumpty dumpty!”

    Maybe, but actually, very similar in many ways: old, white, narcissistic, arrogant, completely intolerant of any views other than their own, ignorant of systemic details of how our economy works, impervious to information that doesn’t match their beliefs, not good with women or minorities . . .

  5. “a man with a lifelong drive to better the lives of all the marginalized people in this country.”

    A man with a lifelong drive to use the politics of demagoguery to make himself a celebrity and to personally enrich himself.

  6. Bernie is the epitome of the career politician riding the gravy train. Unlike some other career politicians, Bernie’s never even had another (real world) job! Full of bombastic bullshit as he laughs all the way to the bank he so loudly criticizes. I imagine he and Jane are funneling money to Switzerland or the Cayman Islands. Do people really think anyone in Washington is going to do due diligence on any candidate? I hope Trump kicks the ass of whomever he ends up running against.

Comments are closed.