Warren’s Campaign Spent More She Took in at End of 2019

(Bloomberg) -- Elizabeth Warren’s campaign ended 2019 with $13.7 million in the bank after spending more than it raised in the final months of the year, according to a filing with the Federal Election Commission.

Warren raised $21.7 million while spending $33.7 million in the fourth quarter, with salary the biggest expense at $7.6 million. She spent $3.6 million on digital advertising. The campaign paid $3 million to Facebook for ads, and $3.5 million to Screen Strategies Media, which buys television advertising.

Warren has been slipping in the polls. She is in fourth place, with 14.6%, in the RealClearPolitics poll average in Iowa, which holds the first nominating contest on Monday. In New Hampshire, which will have its primary Feb. 11, she is also in fourth place, with 13.5%.

She’s been outspent in both states by Bernie Sanders and Pete Buttigieg, both of whom lead her in the polls. Joe Biden, who Warren also trails, has outspent her in Iowa. She’s in third place in national polls.

Small-dollar donors, those giving $200 or less, accounted for $11.3 million in the fourth quarter, and she raised just $397,000 from those giving the maximum $2,800 contribution. Warren refuses to raise money in closed-door fundraisers with donors who can write larger checks, relying on grassroots contributors instead. That can be a boon during the condensed primary season, when candidates’ time is stretched and time spent fundraising means time off the trail.

(Disclaimer: Michael Bloomberg is also seeking the Democratic nomination for president. Bloomberg is the founder and majority owner of Bloomberg LP, the parent company of Bloomberg News.)

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

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Wendy Benjaminson at wbenjaminson@bloomberg.net, Max Berley, Magan Crane

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