Bernie Sanders campaign raises $25 million in January

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) raised $25 million for his Democratic presidential campaign from more than 648,000 people in January, officials announced Thursday.

The haul, which came in the month leading up to the Iowa caucuses, represents the best fundraising month of Sanders’s campaign. More than 219,000 people donated to his White House bid for the first time that month, with an average donation of just over $18.

The campaign announced that the latest haul would help “fuel” its Super Tuesday strategy. Sanders plans to ramp up staffing and expand prior advertising investments in states such as California and Texas. He will also spend more than $5.5 million in television and digital advertisements in other key primary states that vote on March 3. 

“Bernie’s multiracial, multigenerational, people-driven movement for change is fueling 2020’s most aggressive campaign for president,” Sanders’s campaign manager, Faiz Shakir, said. “Working-class Americans giving $18 at a time are putting our campaign in a strong position to compete in states all over the map.” 

The campaign added that “teacher” was the most common occupation from donors in January, and that the most common employers of the donors were Amazon, Starbucks, Walmart, the U.S. Postal Service and Target. 

Since launching his campaign in February 2019, Sanders has raised more than $121 million, the most of any Democratic presidential contender. January’s haul alone is reportedly more than any other primary candidate has accumulated in a quarter. 

The announcement comes as Sanders and the rest of the 2020 Democratic field wait for Iowa to reveal final results from its caucuses earlier this week. Sanders was in a virtual tie with former South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg with 97 percent of precincts reporting. Sanders led in the popular vote, although he trailed in the number of state delegate equivalents earned. 

The next stop in the primary is New Hampshire, where Sanders has led in the polls. A RealClearPolitics average of polling shows Sanders leading in the state by 8.5 percentage points. The state’s voters will head to the polls on Tuesday.

The ad campaign from Sanders will focus on Arkansas, Colorado, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Utah, as well as California and Texas.