In this May 16, 2019, photo, Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., addresses a campaign rally at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va. Warren is gaining traction with black women debating which Democratic presidential candidate to back in a historically diverse primary. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)Written by Reid J Epstein and Astead W Herndon
Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts raised $19.1 million in the past three months, her campaign said Monday, a total that places her firmly in the top echelon of the Democratic money race and ahead of her main rival for the party’s progressive wing, Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont.
The fundraising haul represents a turnaround for Warren after she raised just $6 million in her campaign’s first three months, before her strategy of eschewing wealthy donors and inundating voters with detailed policy proposals began to pay dividends.
Warren’s campaign team said her fortunes had begun to turn the last week of March, about a month after her decision to forgo closed-door fundraising events during the primary campaign.
Warren’s total for the second quarter, which ran from April through June, is likely to place her third in fundraising among Democrats over that period.
Two candidates have reported topping $20 million in the second quarter: Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Indiana, raised $24.8 million, and former Vice President Joe Biden collected $21.5 million, their campaigns said last week.
Sanders — who has also avoided high-dollar fundraisers — brought in $18 million in the quarter, and Sen. Kamala Harris of California raised nearly $12 million, their campaigns said.
Warren’s fundraising total is the latest evidence that her policy-driven strategy is resonating with a growing segment of the Democratic base.
The third quarter is a traditionally difficult fundraising period, and Warren must also overcome concerns that linger among Democrats over how she would fare against Trump in a general election. In a Washington Post/ABC News poll published last week, just 7% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents said Warren had the best chance to beat Trump next year. (Biden led on that question, with 45% saying he had the best shot.)
Warren collected money in the second quarter from more than 384,000 donors, whose donations averaged $28, her campaign said. She finished the quarter with $19.7 million in cash on hand, less than $100,000 of which is earmarked for the general election, her campaign said.
