Beto O’Rourke announces massive $9.4 million fundraising haul — bringing in the most money per day of any Democratic candidate

• Beto O’Rourke raised $9.4 million in the first 18 days of his 2020 presidential campaign.
• The campaign averaged $43 per donation, with 98% of them coming in below $200.
• O’Rourke’s fundraising haul is the largest per day amount of the rest of the Democratic field.

Democratic presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke announced that his campaign raised $9.4 million in the first 18 days of his campaign on Wednesday.

While other campaigns like Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders have raised significantly more since announcing their bid, O’Rourke’s is the largest fundraiser day-to-day, averaging $520,000 everyday.

Read more: Beto O’Rourke is running for president in 2020. Here’s everything we know about the candidate and how he stacks up against the competition.

"In just 18 days, people in every state and from every walk of life have organized in homes, contributed a few bucks online and united together to show that the power of people is far greater than the PACs, corporations and special interest that have captured, corrupted and corroded our democracy for far too long," O’Rourke said in a statement.

"Not only is this a sign of our grassroots strength during the first two weeks of our campaign but it is a sign of what’s possible when you put your full trust in the people of this country."

O’Rourke’s large haul averaged $43 per donation, with 98% of them below $200. The campaign is also not accepting donations from Political Action Committees and corporate donors.

Based on the campaign’s total, roughly two-thirds of O’Rourke’s haul came on the first day. The campaign raised $6.1 million in the first 24 hours since O’Rourke’s announcement, which means $3.3 million was raised over the next 17 days.

Fundraising remains a key component for the 2020 field, as the Democratic National Committee is requiring candidates to obtain contributions from at least 65,000 individual donors or meat polling requirements. O’Rourke has already met both qualifications.

Read more: Democratic candidates are fighting to get enough attention and money to make the first debate stage — here’s everyone who’s qualified so far

The announcement of funds raised by the O’Rourke campaign comes just days after his official kickoff launch in his home state of Texas, where he held multiple rallies attended by thousands.

In addition, the campaign also utilized online watch parties, which were held in every US state and territory.

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See Also:

• Joe Biden’s team is reportedly blaming Bernie Sanders’ camp for the trickle of stories from women about inappropriate contact
• Bernie Sanders is running for president in 2020. Here’s everything we know about the candidate and how he stacks up against the competition.
• Marianne Williamson is running for president in 2020. Here’s everything we know about the candidate and how she stacks up against the competition.

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Source: Business Insider – jperticone@businessinsider.com (Joe Perticone)