The first quarter of 2019 is officially in the books, and the 2020 Democratic primary is off to a fast start. With 18 candidates currently running and more expected to get in, The New York Times points out that the Democratic field is more crowded than it has ever been this early.
Although the Iowa caucus isn’t for another 10 months, there has been a flurry of activities as candidates have jockeyed to raise money and get in front of voters. As the new quarter begins, we took a look back on the last few months to compile candidate “stats” – things like fundraising totals, events held, and states visited – to give context on how these Democrats are faring in the early campaign.
NOTE: The Associated Press totaled the candidate events but for a weekly summary of everything going on in the primary, be sure to check out AR/Intel’s Movers and Shakers series.
Bernie Sanders – Sanders has held 17 major events in eight states and Washington, D.C. since declaring his candidacy on February 19. The Vermont senator’s campaign projects a total turnout of 74,000 people for all of his events so far. Sanders raised $5.9 million in the first 24 hours after his presidential announcement. In the first quarter, Sanders said he raised $18.2 million from 525,000 contributors with an average donation of $20.
Beto O’Rourke – Since announcing his candidacy on March 14, O’Rourke has logged 55 first-quarter events in nine states (covering six in a week on his post-announcement road trip). According to his campaign, he has answered more than 350 questions during those events. O’Rourke raised $6.1M in online donations during his campaign’s first 24 hours. He has not announced his Q1 fundraising totals.
Kamala Harris – Harris announced she was running for president on January 21 and has held 26 public first-quarter events in eight states since. Harris’ campaign said that she has taken more than 100 voter questions during first-quarter events, where total estimated turnout has topped 37,000. Harris raised $1.5M in her first 24 hours and said she raised $12 million from 138,000 contributors in the first quarter.
Elizabeth Warren – Warren’s campaign has apparently been keeping detailed statistics since she announced she was running on February 9. She held at 48 events in 12 states over all three months of the quarter (she launched an exploratory committee on Dec. 31) and took more than 200 questions from voters. Her aides also estimate that she’s taken more than 12,000 “selfies” with voters so far. According to fundraising figures reported by ActBlue, Warren pulled in at least $300,000 from 8,000 donors on her first day. She has not announced her Q1 fundraising totals.
Pete Buttigieg – Since launching his exploratory committee on January 23, Buttigieg has held 35 events in 11 states. In the first quarter, Buttigieg said he raised $7 million from 158,550 contributors with an average donation of $36.35.
Amy Klobuchar – After announcing her candidacy on February 10, Klobuchar has logged 18 events in nine states. She raised more than $1M in the 48 hours after launching her campaign. She has not announced her Q1 fundraising totals.
Kirsten Gillibrand – According to her campaign, Gillibrand has held 59 public events in eight states since launching her exploratory committee in January. She has not released any fundraising information.
Cory Booker – Booker’s campaign estimates that he has held more than 50 public events in seven states since he jumped into the race on February 1. He has not released any fundraising information.
John Hickenlooper – Hickenlooper launched his campaign on March 4 and has held 12 events. He raised more than $1M in the first 48 hours of his campaign but has not yet announced his full Q1 totals.
Jay Inslee – Inslee got into the race on March 1 and has held 12 events. He raised $1M in his campaign’s first three days but has not yet announced his full Q1 totals.