Pollster Dritan Nesho said on Monday that he would not be surprised if 2020 presidential candidate Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) made brought in significant revenue to his campaign later on, bringing him more in line with top fundraisers such as Sound Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg (D).
“I wouldn’t be surprised to see quarter over quarter these numbers shifting, and [I] wouldn’t be surprised if Senator Booker comes out on top of Mayor Pete or one of the other contenders in a subsequent quarter,” Nesho, CEO of HarrisX, told Hill.TV’s Jamal Simmons on “What America’s Thinking.”
Booker’s campaign on Sunday announced it raised more than $5 million in the first quarter of 2019. The campaign also said that 82 percent of the donors were first-time contributors to Booker and that the average online contribution was $34.
Booker’s fundraising haul leaves him well behind some of his 2020 primary rivals, including Buttigieg, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), former Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-Texas).
Sophia Tesfaye, politics editor for Salon.com, told Hill.TV in the same interview that she was impressed with Booker’s gains given what she said was “minimal” coverage of his candidacy.
“I actually think Booker’s numbers were pretty admirable considering the minimal amount of coverage he’s received since announcing his exploratory run,” she said.
— Julia Manchester
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