Bernie Sanders hauls in $33 million in fourth quarter
Bernie Sanders' presidential campaign drew in over $33 million in the final fundraising quarter of 2015, entering the new year with $28.4 million cash-on-hand.
"This people-powered campaign is revolutionizing American politics," Jeff Weaver, Sanders' campaign manager, said in a statement Saturday. "What we are showing is that we can run a strong, national campaign without a super PAC and without depending on millionaires and billionaires for their support."
The campaign's overall fundraising haul for the last year totaled $73 million, with more than a million contributors making over 2.5 million donations.
In the last three months of 2015, the average donation to Sanders was a small-dollar amount: $27.16. The final quarter also saw the campaign's first expenditures on polling and television advertising.
Sanders' campaign, which is not supported by any super PAC, is touting the number as proof of the Vermont senator's strong chances to win the White House.
"Bernie is the only candidate generating the kind of broad-based enthusiasm and excitement that Democrats must have in order to raise funds for a general election campaign and keep the White House and make gains in Congress," Weaver said.
The fourth-quarter tally falls just short of Democratic rival Hillary Clinton's campaign numbers, which totaled $37 million in the last few months of 2015.
Clinton raised a total of $112 million in primary money for the year.
She heads into the 2016 nominating contest with nearly $38 million cash-on-hand.