Bernie Sanders Raises More Than $1.5 Million In 24 Hours


Bernie Sanders has been busy since he announced his intention to run for president.

The Washington Post is reporting that Sanders has gotten off to a flying start, raising more than $1.5 million in less than 24 hours. The self-described social will not have the pool of millionaires, billionaires, or corporate PAC’s to get donations from. His will mostly be a grassroots sort of campaign, depending on the common person for donations.

Sanders and his advisers feel that to run a successful campaign, their grassroots campaign would have to raise, at the very least, 50 million dollars to run an effective, successful campaign.

About 35,000 donors gave to Sanders’ campaign, averaging out to $43.54 per donor. Sanders’ website has collected more than 100,000 supporters, building what they consider a “mass movement.” Previously, many predicted Sanders would struggle running against the overwhelming favorite for the Democratic Party nomination, Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Clinton has not released any campaign contribution numbers. It is known, however, that within the same 24-hour period, Sanders has collected more than Republican Party nominees Florida Senator Marco Rubio ($1.25 million) Kentucky Senator Rand Paul ($1.0 million), and Senator Ted Cruz from Texas ($1.0 million).

“This is a remarkable start for Bernie’s campaign,” Tad Devine, an adviser for Sanders, said in a statement. “People across America are yearning for authentic leadership that tells them the truth about what is holding back our nation.”

CNN is reporting that Sanders is consistently railing against the Koch brothers, who contribute millions upon millions to the Republican coffers. Sanders said his campaign would be devoid of billionaires. If you look at the bottom of Sanders’ website, it reads, “Paid For By Bernie 2016, not The Billionaires.”

“I don’t believe that the men and women who defended American democracy fought to create a situation where billionaires own the political process,” Sanders proclaimed at his presidential announcement press conference. “That’s a huge issue.”

Prior to his presidential campaign announcement, Sanders and his staff were very open about wondering how they were going to be able to compete against Clinton, who is sure to be able to raise huge amounts of campaign funds.

“To run a credible campaign in this day and age, you do need a whole lot of money,” Sanders said. “Whether the magic number is $200 million, or it is $150 million, it is a lot of money, but even with that, you would be enormously outspent by the Koch Brother candidates and the other candidates who will likely spend, in the final analysis, over $1 billion, if not two.”

[Image courtesy of Bill Moyers]

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