Presidential contenders ended 2019 with the close of books of the fourth fundraising quarter, marking another significant turning point that could possibly reorder the trajectory of the primary contest.
Throughout 2019, the money race reflected the shifting momentum that defined the contours of the campaign, with an early surge from then little-known South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg in the second quarter, to a grassroots behemoth supplying a financial edge for Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders quarter after quarter, to opposing fortunes for the two other candidates in the top tier, former Vice President Joe Biden and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren.
In the coming weeks, the final push before early voting begins on Feb. 3. The candidates will pour their war chests into Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina, in the hopes of garnering a slice of delegates ahead of March’s Super Tuesday as the battle for the Democratic nomination comes to the forefront. But in the last sprint before Iowa, the candidates begin 2020 the same way they started 2019: with a still unsettled-race.
For most of the year, Biden, Buttigieg, Sanders and Warren have occupied the top spots in the race. Among those in the middle tier, New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker and Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar are seeking to score an 11th-hour boost, with a spree of fundraising emails in the absence of top-tier polling.
After the third quarter saw one of the most notable exits, with California Sen. Kamala Harris suspending her campaign in early December due to money constraints, and the advent of two campaigns with very different financial fortunes — former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick and billionaire and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg — the Democratic primary still counts 15 candidates and no clear front-runner.
The fourth quarter covers the months of October, November and December.
ABC News will continue to update this story as more candidates release details on their fundraising numbers.
Bernie Sanders tops Democratic field with $34.5 million haul
Bernie Sanders, a grassroots juggernaut, once again showed his prolific fundraising prowess in the last quarter of 2019 by pulling in a massive $34.5 million haul over three months, which is more than any other Democrat in a single quarter this cycle, his campaign announced Thursday.
Sanders’ sum, from more than 1.8 million donations, puts the senator’s total 2019 fundraising at more than $96 million raised since his campaign launched in February — and positions his campaign for a deep-pocketed, early state push for the weeks leading into the early primaries and caucuses.
“Bernie Sanders is closing the year with the most donations of any candidate in history at this point in a presidential campaign,” Sanders’ campaign manager Faiz Shakir said in a statement.
A statement from the campaign notes that Sanders took in $18 million in the month of December alone, his “best” fundraising month so far this cycle. On Wednesday, Sanders’ campaign sent an email to supporters announcing that the campaign had met its year-end goal of 5 million individual contributions with an average donation of $18.53.
Pete Buttigieg continues to prove his fundraising strength
Buttigieg, the first Democratic presidential candidate to release fundraising totals for the fourth quarter, set a high bar for the rest of field, announcing Wednesday morning that he raised more than $24.7 million. That brought his total to more than $76 million since the beginning of the year from more than 2 million donations and more than 733,000 individuals, according to his campaign. The average donation is roughly $33 for the quarter.
Buttigieg continues a steady pace as a strong fundraiser, even after a slower third quarter, in which the campaign raked in $19 million. Throughout the year, he’s poured his war chest into the first four early states of Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina, scaling up a massive field operation ahead of the first votes. Since the onset of 2019, he has increased his campaign staff to over 500 across the country, and opened 65 field offices, including 35 offices and more than 100 organizers in Iowa, the most of any “top-tier presidential campaign,” his campaign wrote in a memo announcing his latest haul.
In an email to supporters, his campaign, which just a few weeks ago was a target of criticism for its high-dollar fundraisers, touted strong grassroots support, emphasizing that its support didn’t come from a fundraising list of a Washington politicians and that the campaign wasn’t funded by the personal wealth of a millionaire or a billionaire.
“This means our campaign is continuing to grow, and every single day we are building the support we need to compete in and win the Democratic primary,” the campaign wrote in the email.
Joe Biden raises $22.7 million, his biggest haul to date; remains behind Sanders and Buttigieg
Former Vice President Joe Biden raised $22.7 million dollars in the fourth fundraising quarter of 2019—his best fundraising quarter to date in the 2020 election cycle.
“I just wanted to thank you for putting yourself on the line, vouching for me, vouching for the family,” Biden said in a video released on Twitter Thursday announcing the numbers.
Biden’s numbers put him third so far for the fourth quarter of 2019, compared to several other 2020 campaigns that have already released their numbers — Sanders and Buttigeig.
An adviser to Biden told reporters in December the campaign saw an uptick in the number of individual donors giving to the campaign particularly following the departure of Harris and former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke from the race. Biden’s team also credits President Trump reportedly asking the president of Ukraine to open an investigation into Biden and his son with the fundraising boost they saw.
“Biden for President doubled its online fundraising and increased its overall fundraising by 49% compared to last quarter, demonstrating financial momentum at the same time as Vice President Biden’s lead nationally has grown,” a press release sent out by the Biden campaign Thursday afternoon said.
Andrew Yang outperforms best quarter by millions, raises more than $16.5 million in Q4
Andrew Yang, the businessman and political outsider, raised more than $16.5 million in the final quarter of 2019, a strong showing and a new high for his campaign. Yang raised over 165% more than he had in the previous fundraising quarter, and his campaign saw its best fundraising day of the entire campaign on New Year’s Eve, taking in $1.3 million on the last day of the quarter.
“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,” Yang campaign chief Nick Ryan said in a press release.
After the Democratic National Committee rejected Yang’s request that it commission four early state polls ahead of the next debate qualifying deadline, the campaign said it saw a “massive uptick in contributions.” According to the campaign, Yang has received over 1 million total contributions from 400,000 individual donors. The average donation is $30, and 98% of online donations are under $200.
Amy Klobuchar sees her strongest fundraising quarter yet in Q4
Sen. Amy Klobuchar saw a significant uptick in fundraising in the fourth quarter of 2019, bringing in $11.4 million from 145,126 donors, according to her campaign, which is more than double any of her previous quarters at a time when she is eyeing a last-minute boost in the early voting states.
The haul — the strongest of Klobuchar’s campaign which began in February — exceeded her third quarter total of $4.8 million by 137%, her campaign announced. The average online contribution was $32 and 92% of donors gave less than $200.
Klobuchar’s campaign manager, Justin Buoen, cited her debate performances as the reason for the Minnesota senator’s grassroots success, saying, “Sen. Klobuchar’s standout performances on the debate stage in October, November and December resonated with voters and caucus-goers across the country. As a result, we have been able to double our staff in Iowa and New Hampshire and make critical investments in Nevada and South Carolina as well as prepare for Super Tuesday.”
The senator is already pouring her surge of cash into a new ad, set to run in Iowa and New Hampshire and backed by a six-figure ad buy, on the heels of a tour of all of Iowa’s 99 counties and seven town hall swing in the Granite State. The ad positions Klobuchar as a not only a unifier, but also touts her ability to win “in rural, urban, and suburban areas every time. Even districts Donald Trump won.”
Tulsi Gabbard has her best quarter yet
Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard raised $3.4 million in the fourth quarter, according to her campaign, outpacing her previous totals from the three earlier quarters of the year.
Last quarter, Gabbard raised $3 million, topping her previous two quarters of $1.9 million in the first quarter and $1.6 million in the second quarter. In the final weeks of the fourth quarter, she brought in $1.2 million to close out the year.
Donald Trump raises $46 million, a record for his 2020 campaign
President Donald Trump continued to show off his campaign’s fundraising prowess, raising a whopping $46 million in the fourth quarter and ending the year with over $102 million cash on hand, according to a press release from the campaign.
Campaign manager Brad Parscale partially credited impeachment, which has been a constant news story during the final quarter of the year, for the huge haul.
“Democrats and the media have been in a sham impeachment frenzy and the President’s campaign only got bigger and stronger with our best fundraising quarter this cycle,” Parscale said in a statement. “The President’s war chest and grassroots army make his re-election campaign an unstoppable juggernaut.”
During the past quarter, the Trump campaign has zeroed in on impeachment in advertisements and fundraising efforts, and Trump himself held multiple rallies where he railed against the House of Representatives’ impeachment pursuit and the Democratic players leading it.
These figures don’t include money raised by the Republican National Committee or any authorized joint fundraising committees.
ABC News’ Averi Harper, Johnny Verhovek, Molly Nagle, Lissette Rodriguez, Beatrice Peterson, and Will Steakin contributed to this report.
