(Bloomberg) -- Pete Buttigieg, the South Bend, Indiana mayor whose stock and poll numbers have risen in the last weeks following a breakout performance in a CNN town hall, will report more than $7 million raised in the first quarter for his presidential bid.
Buttigieg announced the preliminary total on Twitter, where he said his campaign was “out-performing expectations at every turn”.
Presidential candidates will release their first quarter fundraising totals for the period between January 1 and March 31 no later than April 15. For most of them, this will be the first key test of their ability to raise money at a presidential campaign level.
Beyond mere viability to continue a campaign operation, and test of organizational strength, fundraising will also be a criteria for inclusion in the first Democratic presidential debates.
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