ADVERTISEMENT

2020 Democrats’ Cash Haul Stands at $99 Million and Counting

As the Democrats compete for their party’s presidential nomination, they’re also battling over how best to raise money. 

2020 Democrats’ Cash Haul Stands at $99 Million and Counting
Senator Bernie Sanders, an Independent from Vermont and 2020 presidential candidate, speaks during a campaign rally in Los Angeles, California, U.S., on Saturday, March 23. (Photographer: Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg)

(Bloomberg) -- In the crowded 2020 Democratic presidential field, campaign bank accounts are beginning to separate the contenders from the also-rans.

When the candidates report their second-quarter fundraising totals to the Federal Election Commission on Monday, the numbers will show who’s catching fire -- and who’s not.

2020 Democrats’ Cash Haul Stands at $99 Million and Counting

While it’s still early in the election cycle, the figures are likely to cement Joe Biden, Pete Buttigieg, Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders and Kamala Harris as the big five --though political fortunes can change quickly. Former Texas Congressman Beto O’Rourke seemed like a rising star in the first quarter. But his poll numbers dropped before and after a shaky performance in the June 26 Democratic debate and his campaign hasn’t released a number for the second quarter.

The filings will also offer fresh insight into which candidates are managing the delicate balancing act of stockpiling enough cash to last through next year’s primaries and spending that money to build up their campaign machines.

Some of the candidates have voluntarily disclosed the total amount they raised in the quarter ending June 30, but next week’s reports will provide greater detail, including how much was raised from small-dollar donors (those giving $200 or less), the names and affiliations of contributors, and how much each candidate has in the bank.

Candidates pulling in more than $10 million a quarter are the “cream of the crop,” said Sheila Krumholz, executive director of the Center for Responsive Politics, which tracks political money. The others in the crowded 24-person field who “aren’t near the top probably have little chance of making drastic increases,” she said.

2020 Democrats’ Cash Haul Stands at $99 Million and Counting

Among the qualifications for appearing in the second set of debates scheduled for July 30 and 31 in Detroit, candidates must show 65,000 unique donors, with at least 200 in 20 states. That number goes up to 130,000 in September. Those unable to cross those thresholds might face a tough decision: Whether to remain in the race with little hope of the kind of breakout moment a debate can provide or close up shop early.

As the Democrats compete for their party’s presidential nomination, they’re also battling over how best to raise money. Some lean heavily on the party’s networks of deep-pocketed donors while others aim exclusively at grassroots contributors. The FEC filings will likely show that both strategies are working.

2020 Democrats’ Cash Haul Stands at $99 Million and Counting

The traditional fundraising model, which relies on a mix of in-person events for big contributors coupled with appeals to small-dollar donors, powered South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Buttigieg and former Vice President Biden to the biggest quarterly fundraising totals so far -- $24.8 million and $21.5 million, respectively, according to their campaigns.

Yet Warren, a Massachusetts senator, surged into third place using a grassroots-only fundraising strategy to haul in $19.1 million, edging out the $18 million raised by the man who pioneered that approach four years ago, Sanders, a Vermont senator.

Harris, a senator from California, raised less than $12 million, putting her in fifth place despite her breakout performance at the June 27 debate, which gave her a boost in the polls. Harris confronted Biden over his opposition to busing in the 1970s and for remarking at a fundraiser on his ability to work with segregationist senators.

Trump’s Fundraising

The quarterly reports will also give details on President Donald Trump’s fundraising. His campaign said last week that he and the Republican National Committee together raised $105 million in the second quarter and had $100 million in available cash, adding to the unprecedented $166 million Trump raised through his campaign and two joint fundraising committees starting shortly after he won the 2016 election.

Democrats aren’t the only ones appealing to small-dollar contributors. More than half of the $166 million Trump raised came from grassroots donors, FEC records showed. By comparison, 33% of the money raised in 2012 by President Barack Obama’s campaign and joint fundraising committee came from low-dollar donors.

Collectively, the six Democrats that have announced their fundraising totals have received $99.2 million. With 17 other active campaigns due to report on Monday, they’ll top the $105 million Trump and the GOP have raised. But Democrats aren’t running against Trump yet, they’re competing against one another.

Trump’s election showed that presidential politics can be unpredictable. It’s always possible that one of the lower-tier Democratic candidates will rise in the polls and win over donors. With two quarters left in the year, there’s time for another contender to emerge, though the pressure to raise big money is intensifying, Krumholz said.

Fundraising Tactics

The split in fundraising tactics mirrors the struggle between progressives and moderates. Warren and Sanders are both calling for fundamental economic change in the country, attacking large corporations and appealing to voters who think the economy has left them behind. That’s reflected in who’s contributing to them. Sanders confronted leaders of Walmart Inc. at a meeting of shareholders in June, when he asked the retailer to pay higher wages. Rank-and-file employees of the company were among his top donors, the Sanders campaign said.

Buttigieg and Biden, by contrast, have held fundraisers hosted by some of the party’s elite contributors from Wall Street, Silicon Valley and Hollywood, while trying to build small-dollar-donor operations of their own.

2020 Democrats’ Cash Haul Stands at $99 Million and Counting

Buttigieg’s campaign held 70 fundraisers in the second quarter, most of which focused on high-dollar donors. But 20 of the events catered to grassroots supporters, drawing hundreds of attendees to see Buttigieg in person for a $25 donation.

“These events are intended to provide accessibility and inclusivity,” said Chris Meagher, a spokesman for the campaign.

Buttigieg has more than 400,000 donors after starting with an email list of 24,000 names, Meagher said. The campaign also released the names of more than 30 bundlers who have helped drive its fundraising, including David Jacobson and Tod Sedgwick, both of whom raised money for Obama and served as ambassadors in his administration.

Biden, who kicked off his campaign on April 25, held 29 fundraisers in 66 days, all open to the press. Some of Biden’s remarks at those events have drawn fire from his Democratic opponents. In June, he told donors in New York that he wouldn’t make the wealthy into political targets. The next day he spoke of the need for civility, citing his ability to work with segregationist senators in the 1970s -- for which he later apologized.

Small-Donor Model

One advantage of the small-dollar-donor model is its efficiency. Those who can write $2,800 checks -- the maximum an individual can give to a candidate during the primaries -- tend to live in large cities like New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago and Miami, forcing candidates off the trail to attend fundraisers in those places. That could be a liability during the condensed primary season that Democrats face early in 2020.

“There’s not very much time to raise money in $2,800 chunks,” said Michael Malbin, executive director of the Campaign Finance Institute, a non-partisan think tank that studies money in politics.

2020 Democrats’ Cash Haul Stands at $99 Million and Counting

While the flood of small-dollar donations wasn’t enough for Warren and Sanders to equal the second-quarter hauls by Buttigieg and Biden, it gave their campaigns broader contributor bases. And because their donors gave in small amounts -- an average of $28 to Warren’s campaign and $18 to Sanders’ -- they can be tapped again and again.

“Someone giving $18 can donate again 150 times over,” said Sarah Ford, a spokeswoman for Sanders’ campaign. She said $1 million a month is coming from those who have set up automatic, recurring donations. Overall, Sanders’ campaign has raised $36.2 million in 2019, more than any other Democratic candidate.

In the next two quarters, the presidential campaigns will be looking to take their fundraising to new heights. They might need it: Billionaire Tom Steyer, who began his presidential bid Monday, has said he’ll spend $100 million on television ads in pursuit of the nomination. He’s already ordered up $1.4 million worth of time in early primary states, well above what any other candidate has spent.

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, Paula Dwyer, John Harney

©2019 Bloomberg L.P.