U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders raised $5.2 million in an instant fundraiser on the night of his victory. The brazen man used his victory speech in Concord, New Hampshire, to directly appeal to his voters for funds.
Facing a huge crowd gathered for his speech, Sanders said, "I'm going to hold a fundraiser right here, right now, across America," addressing his television audience of millions as well, according to Time. "My request is please go to BernieSanders.com and contribute. Please help us raise the funds we need, whether it's $10 bucks, $20 bucks, or $50 bucks. Help up us raise the money we need to take the fight to Nevada, South Carolina, and the states on Super Tuesday."
The senator has always banked on his huge small-dollar contribution base to raise his capital, and in this case too, they did not disappoint him. The online fundraising windfall amounted to $5.1 million in only 18 hours. Fortune reports show this campaign received contributions worth $3.7 million from 1.3 contributors. According to a person familiar with the matter, the highlight of the night was when the website processed 2,689 contributions in a single minute.
Sanders always touts one line whenever he boasts of his hold over the small-dollar contributors, which he delivered on Tuesday night as well. "And, you know what that average contribution was? $27." This line has recently been parodied in the popular TV show, Saturday Night Live. No one has pointed out to him yet that the average donation was $34 for the $5.1 million he raised in a span of 18 hours.
His opponent, Hilary Clinton too raises funds from small-dollar contributions, but she relies more heavily on high-dollar fundraisers. Last year the former first lady brought in $114 million, 58% of which generated from voters donating a maximum amount of $2700. Her fund kitty surpassed Sanders' $74.9 million. However, the high-dollar fundraising has its own limitations as the donors coming to these events soon max out. This was reflected in her January fundraising event which fetched her $15 million versus the $20 million raised by Sanders.
An email by Sanders' campaign manager carries the latest developments of the night, according to The Huffington Post. "In the spirit of this campaign, we're going to reach for a bigger but difficult goal -- raising $7 million by the end of the day today," he wrote. This is a commendable accumulation for one day. Sanders has managed to keep pace with all his opponents despite not having a super-PAC to back his moves.
The presidential candidate knows exactly what he wants to do with the money he raised. The plan is to buy air time in super Tuesday states like Minnesota, Colorado and Oklahoma, where he can air TV ads, thus expanding advertising beyond the media market in Boston.
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