Huge third-quarter

Sanders rakes in huge third-quarter cash haul

The third quarter was Sanders' most successful fundraising period of his 2020 campaign.

By HOLLY OTTERBEIN

Bernie Sanders raised more than $25 million in the third quarter of his presidential campaign, his aides announced Tuesday.

The large haul demonstrates that the Vermont senator, despite slipping to third place behind Elizabeth Warren and Joe Biden in national polling averages, remains a fundraising juggernaut. Sanders also recently revealed that 1 million people have donated to his bid for the White House — a milestone he reached faster than any Democratic presidential candidate in history.

Sanders' staffers said that the most common profession among his contributors during the quarter was teacher, and the most common employers of his donors were Walmart, Amazon and Starbucks. The average contribution was just over $18, they said.

“Bernie is proud to be the only candidate running to defeat Donald Trump who is 100 percent funded by grassroots donations — both in the primary and in the general,” said Sanders' campaign manager, Faiz Shakir. “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.”

The third quarter was Sanders' most successful fundraising period of his 2020 campaign. He raised about $18 million in each of the first two quarters of the year.

Sanders' aides said that the second best fundraising day of the year was Monday, when Sanders announced a plan to tax high-earning CEOs in an effort to reduce the widening gap between the nation's rich and poor.

Though Shakir did not mention his rival by name, his statement could be interpreted as a reference in part to Warren, who said that she would not participate in big-money fundraisers in the primary but would not unilaterally disarm against President Donald Trump in a general election. Sanders has sworn off high-dollar fundraisers for the entire campaign.

Sanders' team said he also transferred an extra $2.6 million from his other campaign accounts, but that figure is not included in the his reported haul of $25.3 million.