WASHINGTON (AP) – Bernie Sanders raked in $25.3 million over the past three months, putting him on top of the Democratic presidential fundraising field for now. But in a sign of what he and his rivals are up against, President Donald Trump and his allies raised $125 million.
Other leading Democrats, including former Vice President Joe Biden and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, have yet to reveal their fundraising figures for the third quarter.
But the staggering sum on the Republican side, which was split between the Trump campaign and the Republican National Committee, highlights the cash gulf between Democrats and the GOP. It could revive anxieties among Democrats that a protracted primary featuring nearly 20 candidates could be counterproductive while Trump builds a massive cash advantage that can be used against the ultimate nominee.
“This is a (ton) of money,” Bakari Sellers, a top surrogate for California Sen. Kamala Harris, tweeted in reference to Trump’s fundraising. Although activists who contribute small amounts online have been widely celebrated, he said that won’t stand up to the Trump operation. “Small dollar donations alone ain’t going to save our democracy.”
New York Times file photo / President Donald Trump in the Oval Office at the White House.Sanders posted the largest quarterly sum for a Democratic White House hopeful this year. The haul ensures the Vermont senator will be an enduring presence in the primary even as Warren and Biden have surpassed him in some polls. Much of the money he raised came from his army of small-dollar online contributors.