Joe Biden's presidential rivals look to capitalize as Democratic frontrunner slips
A new poll says Joe Biden's cushion is just five percentage points over California Senator Kamala Harris; Peter Doocy reports from Frisco, Texas.
Former Vice President Joe Biden on Wednesday reported raising $21.5 million during the first two months of his Democratic bid for the White House.
The campaign cash haul during the second quarter of fundraising was more than the $18 million that Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont raised during the past three months. But it trailed the $24.8 million haul of another rival for the Democratic presidential nomination, South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg.
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Biden’s campaign noted that the former vice president didn’t declare his candidacy until April 25, nearly a month into the second quarter of fundraising. And they touted that Biden raised “more money per day than any other presidential candidate.”
The campaign also reported in an email to supporters that they received 436,000 contributions from 256,000 individual donors. And they highlighted the campaign’s grassroots appeal, saying that 97 percent of contributions were less than $200 and that the average donation was $49.
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The spotlight on his small-dollar donations comes as Biden has been criticized by Sanders and another rival – Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts – for holding numerous fundraisers from coast to coast with top-dollar donors. Both Sanders and Warren have mostly eschewed courting wealthy donors.
Sanders campaign manager Faiz Shakir – in a not-too-subtle jab at Biden and Buttigieg – noted on Tuesday that “while other candidates court big money at fancy fundraisers, this campaign is supported by teachers, retail workers, and nurses.”
“We’re very honored to have the working class movement all across America,” he added. “It is the kind of support we would take any day of the week over a cushy closed-door high-dollar fundraiser in New York City in which people eat parmesan crusted salmon on toothpicks.”
Biden’s campaign, in Wednesday’s announcement, noted that “every” fundraiser has been “included on daily guidance to the media” and accessible to reporters.
And while Biden grabbed plenty of attention for his big donor fundraising events since launching his campaign - 29 by an unofficial count - it appears Buttigieg held nearly twice as many during the March-June period.
The campaign also highlighted that Biden refuses to accept donations from federally registered lobbyists and corporate PACs, as well as fossil fuel executives and PACs.
“We are grateful for the immense grassroots support we are seeing. We're continuing to build a campaign that energizes and expands Team Joe and puts us in a strong position to take on Donald Trump,” Biden campaign manager Greg Schultz said.
The release of Biden’s fundraising figures follows what was generally considered a rough moment for Biden during last week’s first round of Democratic presidential primary debates, when he was criticized by rival Sen. Kamala Harris of California for his controversial comments regarding segregationist senators and for his past opposition to federally mandated desegregation busing.
A spate of post-debate polls released this week indicates Biden’s once-large lead over his rivals in the race for the nomination has shrunk as Harris has gained ground.
And Biden’s campaign cash announcement comes a day after President Trump’s re-election campaign and the Republican National Committee announced that combined they raised $105 million the past three months.
Campaign cash, along with polling, is an important metric to measure a candidate's popularity and his or her campaign's strength. Fundraising dollars can be used by campaigns to hire staff, build grassroots outreach efforts, travel and pay for ads.
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