Democratic presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke raised $9.4 million in the first 18 days of his campaign, his team announced Wednesday.
The haul came from 218,000 contributions and the average donation size was $43, according to his campaign. Just about all the contributions were small-dollar — $200 or less — and came online.
Candidates are required to file reports detailing how much they raised in the first-quarter of the year to the Federal Election Commission by April 15. But some are choosing to release some details early, most notably U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who announced Tuesday that he raised $18.2 million in the 41 days between launching his campaign in February and the end of the first quarter on March 31.
O'Rourke outpaced Sanders in fundraising per day, $522,000 to $444,000, though much of O'Rourke's 18-day total came in the first day of his campaign and the last weekend of the quarter, when he formally launched his campaign with rallies across Texas. O'Rourke's campaign previously said he raised $6.1 million in his first 24 hours — more than Sanders — and $1.1 million over the last weekend of the quarter.
Three other candidates have disclosed their first-quarter fundraising figures. Pete Buttigieg said he raised $7 million over his first 68 days, Kamala Harris said she raked in $12 million over her first 70 days and Andrew Yang took in $1.7 million in 90 days.
So far, Sanders is the only candidate to share his cash-on-hand figure: $28 million.
The figures show O'Rourke continues to be a fundraising force after his blockbuster U.S. Senate bid last year. His 2020 campaign sought to show Wednesday that he was expanding his fundraising base from last year, though, announcing a majority of donors in the first 18 days of his White House bid never gave to his Senate run.
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