Not to sound like a broken record, but Bernie’s supporters keep opening their wallets with wild abandon. Small donors, baby! Ask ’em once, ask ’em twice, ask ’em until they scream for mercy…and then ask ’em again.
We’ve seen the Sanders small-donor army play a critical role repeatedly this cycle, from making him competitive in the eyes of the media back in the Fall to backing him up when Hillary Clinton launched attacks in January. AFTER the statistical tie in Iowa, they ponied up again, donating THREE MILLION DOLLARS in the 24 hours after the caucuses closed:
“It’s been our best day ever,” Sanders communications director Michael Briggs said of the fundraising haul.
Sanders raises the vast majority of his money online in small increments, which gives the campaign the ability to return to donors to ask for additional contributions. Only a tiny fraction of Sanders’s contributors have hit the $2,700 maximum, aides say.
Another sign of grassroots enthusiasm? A flood of Google searches by people looking to give him even more money during and after last Thursday’s Democratic debate…something Clinton most definitely did not see.
The upshot: Bernie goes into New Hampshire flush with cash, with the promise of much more to come. Even if he loses big in southern states on Super Tuesday, he can stay in this fight until the end. And if Hillary’s big donors max out and she runs short of funds? THAT might make for some electoral upsets, and some upset Clintons with them. A hell of a political year!
– cpd