Buttigieg Raised $19.1 Million in Third Quarter, Campaign Says

(Bloomberg) -- Pete Buttigieg raised $19.1 million in the third quarter, down from his pace-setting total in the previous period but a solid haul for a candidate who began the race with little name recognition.

The campaign said it had 182,000 new donors in the quarter, bringing its total to more than 581,000, and it’s raised more than $51 million since launching in February.

“What we’ve raised has helped us hire organizers and open offices in states critical to winning the nomination,” campaign manager Mike Schmuhl said in an email to supporters. “It positions us to not just go the distance, but win.”

Bernie Sanders’s campaign announced it raised $25.3 million during the same period, the largest quarterly haul of any campaign for a Democrat seeking the White House so far this year.

Candidates are due to officially report third-quarter totals to the Federal Election Commission on Oct. 15. Some campaigns voluntarily announce the amount they raised ahead of the deadline, often to show the depth and breadth of their support.

The focus of Buttigieg’s campaign has been building the infrastructure it will need to compete in the compressed caucus and primary schedule beginning Feb. 3 in Iowa. It opened 42 offices in the third quarter and now employs almost 400 people, including 227 organizers working in early states, Schmuhl said.

The average donation size was $32 in the third quarter, the campaign said. Through June, Buttigieg had raised 49% of his campaign funds from small-dollar donors, those who give $200 or less. He also received support from top Democratic contributors, including maximum donations from film industry moguls David Geffen and Jeffrey Katzenberg.

Buttigieg raised $24.9 million in the second quarter, the most among Democratic candidates, ahead of Joe Biden’s $22 million, Elizabeth Warren’s $19.2 million and Sanders’s $18.2 million.

While Buttigieg’s fundraising has put him in the top tier of candidates, his poll numbers have remained in single digits. He’s currently at 5.3% in the RealClearPolitics average behind Biden, Warren and Sanders.

Presidential candidates often see declines in their fundraising totals in the third quarter of odd-numbered years. In 2015, Hillary Clinton’s receipts in the period dropped 37% to $29.9 million from $47.5 million over the previous three months. Of the 10 presidential challengers who raised more than $10 million in the second quarter starting in 2007, six saw declines in the third.

To contact the reporter on this story: Bill Allison in Washington at ballison14@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Sara Forden at sforden@bloomberg.net, Elizabeth Wasserman, Kathleen Hunter

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