SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Potential 2020 Democratic contender Pete Buttigieg has raised over $7 million in the first quarter of the year, the South Bend, Indiana, mayor announced on Twitter Monday morning.
Buttigieg is the first Democrat to publicly reveal his or her first quarter hauls, so it’s unknown how his total compares to other candidates. Regardless, it’s an impressive amount for a little-known 37-year-old mayor of a small town who is trying to break through a crowded field of better-known Democrats.
“This is just a preliminary analysis, but our team’s initial report shows we raised over $7 million dollars in Q1 of this year. We (you) are out-performing expectations at every turn. I’ll have a more complete analysis later, but until then: a big thank you to all our supporters,” he tweeted.
Buttigieg’s announcement comes a day after the end of the first fundraising quarter of the 2020 campaign. There is pressure on top-tier candidates to post big numbers, but lessser-known candidates like Buttigieg face an added challege: meeting the new criteria the Democratic National Committee has established for the first two debates.
To get on the debate stage this summer, candidates must either earn at least 1% support in several polls or receive campaign contributions from 65,000 individuals.
Buttigieg launched an exploratory committee for a 2020 presidential bid in January, but has not officially launched a campaign. Two of those who have — Bernie Sanders and Beto O’Rourke — posted large fundraising hauls in the first 24 hours of their official campaign announcements, with Sanders raising $5.9 million and O’Rourke raising $6.1 million in that first day after their respective announcements.
