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Bernie Sanders Leads Dems Fundraising Efforts, Andrew Yang Gains Momentum

   DailyWire.com
WINTERSET, IOWA - DECEMBER 30: Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-VT) speaks during a campaign event at Winterset Middle School Commons on December 30, 2019 in Winterset, Iowa. The 2020 Iowa Democratic caucuses will take place on February 3, 2020, making it the first nominating contest for the Democratic Party in choosing their presidential candidate to face Donald Trump in the 2020 election.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Democratic Party presidential hopefuls have begun announcing fundraising totals for the last three months of 2019, and so far, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) leads the pack, having raised $34.5 million, according to his campaign. 

Although many people dismissed Sanders’ chances after he suffered a heart attack in October, the self-described democratic socialist has proven that his campaign will remain financially viable going into early primary states and beyond. Sanders also recently announced that he had surpassed a total of five million total contributions, according to The New York Times

Martin LeWinter, Sanders’ cardiologist, announced earlier this week that the candidate “has been doing very well since” the heart attack, according to NPR. Furthermore, LeWinter is “confident” that Sanders “has the mental and physical stamina to fully undertake the rigors of the presidency.”

Last month, Politico reported that Democratic insiders have begun treating Sanders’ campaign with more seriousness for a couple of reasons: “First, Warren has recently fallen in national and early state surveys. Second, Sanders has withstood the ups and downs of the primary, including a heart attack. At the same time, other candidates with once-high expectations, such as Kamala Harris, Cory Booker and Beto O’Rourke, have dropped out or languished in single digits in the polls.”

Former U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro also dropped out earlier today, according to The Daily Wire

If Sanders were to win the Democratic primary, it’s possible that general election voters would be dissuaded by the high cost of his plans, which City Journal estimates will cost as much as $97.5 trillion. 

Andrew Yang, the entrepreneur who began his campaign with very little in the way of fundraising infrastructure, announced in a statement on Thursday that his campaign had raised $16.5 million in the final three months of 2019 — with over $1.3 million of the total coming from people donating on New Year’s Eve. The campaign also announced it had surpassed one million total contributions. 

Yang campaign chief Nick Ryan said in a statement that “At every turn in this race, Andrew Yang continues to exceed expectations whether it’s in terms of grassroots fundraising, making the debates, early state polling, or the ability to draw big crowds,” according to Politico. Similar to Sanders’ campaign haul, the Yang campaign’s fundraising efforts have therefore positioned him to remain financially viable.

Although Yang has garnered excitement for his signature plan a universal basic income of $1,000 a month for every U.S. citizen at least 18 years old experts believe the program would cost $3.8 trillion per year, according to the New York Post. The candidate is also currently at risk of not making the final debate held before the first-in-the-nation Iowa caucuses, which will be held on February 3, and only has until January 10 to reach a 5% threshold in several more qualifying polls.

Pete Buttigieg, who ended his term as mayor of South Bend, Indiana, on Tuesday, announced a fundraising haul of $24.7 million, which is more than he raised in the previous quarter but less than he raised between April and June of 2019, as the Times previously reported.  

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and former Vice President Joe Biden have not yet released fundraising totals for the fourth quarter of 2019. However, Business Insider reported last month that Warren had only raised $17 million, and that she needed supporters to contribute more to reach a $20 million goal. 

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