Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) raised $12 million in her first months as a presidential candidate, her campaign announced Monday evening, a strong haul but one that may be overshadowed by other candidates.
That total came from 218,000 donors, Harris’s campaign said, with about half of that coming from small online donations — the life’s blood of modern campaigns.
“A nationwide network of hundreds of thousands of grassroots supporters has stepped up to lay the foundation for a winning campaign,” Harris campaign manager Juan Rodriguez said in a statement.
The average donation from her digital side was $28 — but that’s only half the story. Harris did not release what her actual average donation was, a sign it’s likely higher than other candidates’ and that her fundraising apparatus is more reliant on big donors than others in the field. But she did say that 99.45% of her donors could donate again, meaning they haven’t hit the federal maximum donation of $2,800.
For comparison, upstart South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg (D) raised $7 million from almost 160,000 donors, with an average donation of $36.35, though he is less known with much less infrastructure than Harris.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) hasn’t released his fundraising numbers yet, but his campaign set out the goal of reaching 1 million donors this quarter. If he hits that and keeps up his average donation of $27, that would put him far beyond the rest of the current field.
It remains to be seen whether Harris can keep up her solid fundraising pace — but the strong if not overwhelming fundraising figures match her current status as a first-tier but not front-running candidate.
