On New Year’s Day, 2020, Bernie Sanders announced that his campaign received more than 5 million individual contributions. No primary campaign in US history has ever reached 5 million contributions by this point in the primary, and this makes the Bernie Sanders campaign the only Democratic campaign with more donations than the Trump campaign for 2020.
“Sanders crossed 5 million individual contributions to begin 2020, his campaign said Wednesday, claiming it was the fastest any presidential campaign had hit that mark in history.”
While fundraising number from the 4th quarter have not been publicly released in full, there are solid numbers from some campaigns, and estimates have been made for others. An estimate made by Shane Goldmacher found that the Warren and Biden had raised close to or more than 20 million and 21.5 million, respectively. The Pete Buttigieg campaign announced today that he raised 24.7 million dollars, likely placing him in 2nd or 3rd in the money race for the 4th quarter. The Bernie Sanders campaign has not released their Quarter 4 fundraising total, but Goldmacher has made an estimate that he’s raised 28.5 million in the 4th quarter, marking what’s likely the highest fundraising for any candidate in any quarter. This also means that Bernie Sanders has raised the most amount of money in 2019.
Quarter 4 was not supposed to be the strongest quarter for Sanders. In October at the beginning of the fundraising period, Bernie Sanders suffered a heart attack. After this health scare, many doubted the septuagenarian's chances, and some even called for the candidate to drop out. Also during this period, Elizabeth Warren, the other major candidate jostling for the progressive mantle, found herself clearly in second place. Betting markets gave Bernie his lowest chances during the primary in October. But October would not be the end for the Vermont Senator.
After leaving the hospital, Bernie was propelled back into the race with endorsements from some of the most outspoken women of color in congress. And now, after a flurry of stories from the media stating that Bernie may win the nomination, Senator Sanders finds himself uniquely positioned to win the primary and defeat Donald Trump. A recent poll found Sanders statistically tied with Biden in Iowa, and campaign releases shows that polling in Iowa may be understating his support in the state.
“Sen. Bernie Sanders's (I-Vt.) 2020 presidential campaign has signed up an eye-popping 25,000 volunteers in Iowa.”
He also leads in the RCP average for New Hampshire. If Bernie were to win Iowa by a small margin, Nate Silver of FiveThirtyEight’s model suggests that it would propel Bernie Sanders to first place nationally. This suggests that if Bernie Sanders were to win Iowa, he’d be well-positioned to win the next two contests, and may sweep enough delegates on Super Tuesday to lock up the nomination by March. Current general election polling shows that Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden will have the best opportunity to make Trump a one term president.
Bernie’s historic fundraising numbers only underscore his recent success and momentum in the Democratic Primary. He’s the only one of the major candidates to consistently increase and grow his fundraising over every quarter, and due to his low average contribution, can raise plenty more from his existing donors. In Bernie’s announcement, he underscores how his momentous fundraising could be the key to defeating Donald Trump:
"Against Trump, I believe we will have 50 million individual contributions, at least," Sanders wrote. "And at $27 a piece, that would be more than $1 billion. It's absolutely obscene and outrageous that an election would cost that much money, but our campaign has proven we will be able to raise more than enough money to win."
Clearly, Senator Sanders has a solid base of support. But he’s also the candidate viewed most favorably by democratic primary voters. As he’s once again found himself clearly in second place nationally, and knocking on the door in Iowa and New Hampshire, 2020 may be the year the United States elects its first Jewish president, when Bernie Sanders defeats Donald Trump. There is almost a month left until voting begins in the primary, but Senator Sanders has never been better positioned to be the Democratic Nominee than today.
