Inslee touts fundraising bump after Democratic debate

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee (D) on Saturday touted a fundraising bump for his campaign following the first Democratic presidential debate, seeking to demonstrate a show of strength for his longshot White House bid. 

Inslee’s campaign said in a press release it enjoyed a record number of donations in a 24-hour period following his appearance in the debate Wednesday night, though it did not specify how much it had actually raised.

{mosads}It also hyped a 9,872 percent increase in Google search interest over its previous seven-day average, a 470 percent increase in site visitors over its previous seven-day average and a fivefold increase in the number of new donors over the average day in the past week.

“Online enthusiasm reached new peaks last night as a direct result of the Governor’s debate performance highlighting his strong commitment to defeating climate change and his long record of progressive accomplishments in Washington state,” said Travis Mockler, digital director for his campaign, calling it “a sign of the growing momentum.”

The Inslee campaign did not immediately respond to request from The Hill for a clarification regarding its fundraising bump.

Inslee has centered his campaign around fighting climate change, an effort that has at times led him to clash with the Democratic National Committee as he fights for a debate solely on the subject. However, he has struggled to gain traction and is languishing near the bottom of national and statewide polls. 

The Saturday announcement comes as Inslee tries to keep up several other candidates who also boasted post-debate fundraising bumps in the first 24 hours. 

Former Vice President Joe Biden, the current primary frontrunner who faltered during the first debate, had his best online fundraising hour since its official launch rally in Philadelphia earlier this year.

Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), another top-tier contender who was widely considered one of the winners of the two-day debate, said Saturday her campaign had raised more than $2 million in donations in the 24 hours since her Thursday appearance. 

Sen. Cory Booker’s (D-N.J.) campaign had its second-best online fundraising day of the entire campaign in terms of both dollars raised and number of donors, and former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro enjoyed a threefold increase over his previous best fundraising day following his Wednesday night debate performance.