Sen. Bernie Sanders campaigns at the University of New Hampshire on Monday. Credit: Paul Heintz

Updated Tuesday at 3:33 p.m.

Sen. Bernie Sanders’ (I-Vt.) presidential campaign announced Tuesday that it raised $25.3 million from July through September — more than any of the candidate’s Democratic rivals have collected in a single quarter. The money came in the form of 1.4 million donations averaging $18.07 a pop, the campaign said.

Sanders’ third-quarter haul exceeded the roughly $18 million he raised in the first and second quarters of this year — and it nearly matched the $26.2 million he took in exactly four years ago, when he was emerging as the chief alternative to former secretary of state Hillary Clinton.

Later Tuesday, the Sanders campaign made clear how it will spend some of its newly raised cash: on its first television advertisement of the 2020 election. The spot, called “Fights for Us,” will debut in Iowa on Thursday as part of a $1.3 million ad buy.

It features Sanders describing his working class upbringing — a topic he typically avoids — and contrasts his record with that of President Donald Trump, who a narrator describes as a “dangerous demagogue tearing our nation apart.”

Campaigns are not required to file detailed fundraising reports with the Federal Election Commission until October 15, so it is impossible to verify the figures Sanders’ campaign provided, dig into the details or compare them to those of his opponents. As of midafternoon Tuesday, only two others had announced their quarterly results: South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg raised $19.1 million while Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) raised $6 million.

The Sanders campaign said it had raised a total of $61.5 million from 3.3 million donations since the start of the race. It did not say how much the campaign spent, nor how much money it had in the bank.

In a written statement, Sanders campaign manager Faiz Shakir argued that the organization’s fundraising success countered an emerging narrative that the senator from Vermont is trailing other candidates. “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,” Shakir said.

Other Sanders campaign staffers took to Twitter to crow about the haul, with some alluding to a Politico Magazine story published Monday entitled “Bernie Sanders Is in Trouble.”

“Oh my. Looks like we’re in trouble!” Midwest press secretary Bill Neidhardt wrote.

“Campaign in peril,” western press secretary Joe Calvello responded. 

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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 Rakes in $25 Million in Third Quarter”

  2. The mainstream media, including MSNBC and CNN, is playing the same game as four years ago, denying coverage to or even refusing to name, Bernie, and it makes no difference. The internet has become the source for news for all of us sick of the MSMs noncoverage of this campaign. It pays off in the number of donations Bernie receives, even if they aren’t for the big bucks less principled candidates receive. Bernie’s donations are from actual voters, rather than from those trying to buy a candidate. Thank goodness for that.

  3. Remarkable that Bernie can raise so much from small donors…very impressive. But instead of giving him $27 when he asks next time, I’m going to change that amount to $18.07! 🙂 Go Bernie!

  4. Yet another one of the many-too-many things that Old Screaming Bernie and the Angry Orange Menace have in common: blame the media for their problems.

    All dictatorial extremists on either end of the spectrum, and their true-believing sycophants, are basically the same: the Dear Leader is always right and the media is the enemy.

  6. Old socialist bernie has $25million from “donations” does that means donations from PAC, Pharmaceuticals, his millionaires “buddies” and other Capitalists friends??? Yettttttt maybe from his socialist “buddies” from RUSSIA !!!
    Asking for a friend…

  7. expected more honest reporting… he transferred 7.6 million from previous campaign raising… Politico has the breakdown for each candidate: small donor, transfer are highlighted…
    that suggests to me his campaign raised about 18.1 , putting him 4th, below Elizabeth Warren…
    why are the facts being covered up?

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