Posting $24.6 Million Third-Quarter Haul, Warren Far Surpasses Biden 'Without One Single Fancy Fundraiser'

Sen. Elizabeth Warren announced Friday that her 2020 presidential campaign raised $24.6 million from an average donation of $26 in the third quarter of 2019, easily surpassing the totals posted by centrist Democratic candidates Joe Biden and Pete Buttigieg.

The only Democratic White House hopeful who raised more than Warren in the third quarter was Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who raked in $25.3 million from an average donation of $18.

"The progressives just raised $50 million in one quarter. And they did it without one single fancy fundraiser. Hot damn."
--Rebecca Katz, New Deal Strategies

"Close your eyes and picture Wall Street bankers scowling into their catered breakfast," Warren campaign manager Roger Lau wrote in an email Friday.

Sanders and Warren's combined fundraising total of nearly $50 million over the last three months--all without holding big-money fundraisers--was hailed by progressives as a forceful demonstration of the power of grassroots organizing and bold policy ideas.

"The progressives just raised $50 million in one quarter. And they did it without one single fancy fundraiser," tweeted Rebecca Katz, founder of progressive consulting firm New Deal Strategies. "Hot damn."

Adam Jentleson, public affairs director at the anti-corruption advocacy group Democracy Forward, compared the progressive senators' combined total to that of Biden and Buttigieg, who both relied heavily on high-dollar events hosted by corporate executives:

Politico reporter Alex Thompson tweeted Friday that "the most valuable resource on every campaign is the candidate's time."

"Joe, Pete, and [Sen.] Kamala [Harris] are dedicating a lot of that to raising money and yet are being outraised," said Thompson. "The online small-dollar operations of Bernie and Warren are disrupting the old campaign model."