Beto O'Rourke raises staggering $6.1 million after announcing 2020 run
Beto O'Rourke, the latest Democrat to jump into the packed 2020 presidential primary field, has raised a staggering $6.1 million in the first 24 hours of his presidential campaign, joining a list of fellow record fundraisers. The O'Rourke campaign said that the candidate received online contributions from "every state and territory in the nation."
"In just 24 hours, Americans across this country came together to prove that it is possible to run a true grassroots campaign for president -- a campaign by all of us for all of us that answers not to the PACs, corporations and special interests but to the people," said O'Rourke in a statement on Monday.
The fundraising milestone comes after O'Rourke formally kicked off his campaign on Thursday with an online video, telling supporters that he plans to travel the country and "listen to those who I seek to serve, to understand from your perspective how we can best meet these challenges."
"At this moment of maximum peril and maximum potential let's show ourselves and those who will succeed us in this great country just who we are and what we can do."
O'Rourke, who previously denied that he would be running in 2020, told "CBS This Morning" co-anchor Gayle King that it was discussions with his family that led him to change his mind on entering the race.
"They understand that they will inherit the consequences of the choices that you and I make at this moment. And they're counting on us to make the right ones," O'Rourke said of his children.
Who else has hit fundraising milestones in the 2020 race?
- Former Gov. John Hickenlooper - raised more than $1 million less than 48 hours after announcing
- Sen. Bernie Sanders - raised more than $1 million for his 2020 presidential campaign in less than four hours. Like Beto, he raised $6 million since launching his campaign -- with $5.9 million in the first 24 hours.
- Sen. Kamala Harris - raised $1.5 million from more than 38,000 people in all 50 states in the first 24 hours of her campaign
- Sen. Amy Klobuchar - raised more than $1 million in the first 48 hours of her campaign
- Governor Jay Inslee - raised over $1 million in contributions in first 48 hours of campaign