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Democrats begin reporting funding totals; Sanders hauls $18.2M

By Danielle Haynes
Ninety-nine percent of Sen. Bernie Sanders' donations were each $100 or less. Photo by Terry Schmitt/UPI
Ninety-nine percent of Sen. Bernie Sanders' donations were each $100 or less. Photo by Terry Schmitt/UPI | License Photo

April 2 (UPI) -- With the first quarter of fundraising in the books for most 2020 presidential candidates, Democrats are starting to release how much they banked. And Sen. Bernie Sanders announced the biggest haul Tuesday -- $18.2 million.

Campaign manager Faiz Shakir told reporters the Sanders campaign began with $14 million, bringing his war chest to more than $32 million.

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The Vermont senator celebrated the news on Twitter, touting that an "incredible" 525,000 supporters have contributed with an average $20.

"The most common profession? Teachers," he tweeted. "This campaign is about all of us -- not billionaire donors and Super PACs."

Shakir said 99.5 percent of donations are $100 or less and 88 percent gave $200 or less. Of the contributors, 100,000 are registered Independents and 20,000 are registered Republicans.

Sen. Kamala Harris of California announced a $12 million haul for the first quarter. There were 218,000 individual contributions and 99 percent can give again. The average donation was $55.

"No corporate PACs. No federal lobbyists. A real, grassroots campaign -- by the people and for the people," she tweeted.

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On Monday, South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg's campaign announced a preliminary first-quarter total of more than $7 million.

"We (you) are out-performing expectations at every turn," he said.

His campaign said he had 158,550 individual donors with an average donation of $36.35. Sixty-four percent of donations were less than $200.

"We are not part of the national political machine. We started with just about 20,000 people on our email list, and not many people even knew who I was. But as more and more people around the country begin to hear our bold vision for the future, more and more people are investing in this effort," Buttigieg said.

Fellow Democrats -- Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey, former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro, former Rep. John Delaney of Maryland, Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, former Rep. Beto O'Rourke of Texas and Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts -- have yet to announce their fundraising totals. They have until April 15 to do so.

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