Bernie's debate boost: Sanders' campaign says it raised more than $1 million after the Democratic showdown

Insurgent challenger raised $100,000 in the five minutes after the debate ended

By Sophia Tesfaye

Senior Politics Editor

Published October 14, 2015 4:10PM (EDT)

Bernie Sanders    (Reuters/Jim Young)
Bernie Sanders (Reuters/Jim Young)

The Bernie Sanders campaign doesn't just have enviable organizing prowess, organizing more than 4,000 debate watch parties across the country last night (more than President Obama organized for a September 2012 debate), but it also runs a powerful online fundraising machine that  has already outpaced every candidate on on both sides in growth -- already hitting one million contributors -- and now his campaign is boasting it raised more than $1 million dollars after last night first Democratic presidential debate.

The Sanders campaign sent out an email to supporters a little more than an hour after it began and asked for a donation in the amount of $23.81 -- what they say was the average donation to the campaign.

This morning, his campaign touted its big fundraising haul in an statement that claimed "more than $1.3 million was raised in the first four hours after the debate began."

More than 37,600 individual contributions, according to the campaign and around $100,000 was raised in the first five minutes following the debate.

Still, Sanders trails rival Hillary Clinton by more than 20 points nationally, according to the Huffington Post poll tracker.

(H/T: Huffington Post)

 


By Sophia Tesfaye

Sophia Tesfaye is Salon's senior editor for news and politics, and resides in Washington, D.C. You can find her on Twitter at @SophiaTesfaye.

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