Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-Texas) has reportedly raised more than $10.4 million over the past three months, placing him second among the top fundraisers this election season.
O’Rourke, who is challenging incumbent Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), told his followers in a video posted to Twitter that his campaign raised the enormous sum with 215,714 individual contributions.
The average donation was $33 over the past three months, he said.
“In the last three months, all of us together, without PACs [political action committees] or corporations, or special interests, have raised more than $10.4 million,” O’Rourke said. “That comes from 215,714 individual contributors, most of them from Texas, giving 15, 25, 50 bucks at a time.”
O’Rourke’s campaign already boasted massive fundraising, but the latest haul brings his cash-on-hand to $14 million, the Texas Tribune reported.
Cruz will reportedly announce raising $4 million over the same period of time, bringing him to $10 million in cash-on-hand, according to the Washington Examiner.
According to its latest report from March 31, the Center for Responsive Politics reported that 41 percent of O’Rourke’s contributions were small individual contributions of less than $200. Around 58 percent were from large individual contributions.
“You have made something absolutely extraordinary happen in Texas,” O’Rourke said, addressing his supporters. “Extraordinary because we can’t find many other Senate races that have raised this kind of money in a three-month period. We can’t find one in Texas — maybe ever — that has done this and to do it in this way, through small-dollar contributions — that’s what democracy looks like.”
Cruz has a slight lead over O’Rourke, with the latest polling showing the incumbent holding a 5-point lead over his Democratic challenger.
Florida Gov. Rick Scott, who is running for a Senate seat, raised $10.7 million over the same period — more than any other Senate candidate this election cycle.
–This report was updated on July 12 at 8:47 a.m.