Bernie Sanders Fundraising: After New Hampshire Primary Victory Speech, $2.6M Raised

Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders scored a major fundraising boost following his primary victory in New Hampshire Tuesday night. Between the polls closing Tuesday night and 12:30 a.m. the next day, the Vermont senator’s campaign raised $2.6 million, Politico reported Wednesday.

After winning New Hampshire by a margin of more than 20 percentage points over former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Sanders made a direct call for voters to visit his website and donate to the campaign. It apparently worked.

“I am going to New York City tonight and tomorrow, but I am not going to New York City to hold a fundraiser on Wall Street. Instead I’m going to hold a fundraiser right here, right now, across America. My request is please go to BernieSanders.com and contribute,” Sanders said in his speech Tuesday night. Shortly after, he said, “So there it is, that’s our fundraiser. Pretty quick.”

Enough people followed Sanders’ instructions that some were complaining online that fundraising provider ActBlue struggled to process the sudden workload, reported CNN. “Huge night! Contributions are processing, receipts are a little delayed. Keep the donations coming!!” ActBlue tweeted.

Sanders raised more than Clinton in January — $20 million to $15 million — and has made it a point to emphasize his donations are typically in small amounts.

“Together we have sent the message that will echo from Wall Street to Washington, from Maine to California,” Sanders said in his Tuesday night speech. “And that is the government of our great country belongs to all of the people and not just a handful of wealthy campaign contributors and their super PACs.”

Sanders spent $8.1 million on television ads in New Hampshire along the way to the win, while Clinton spent $10.8 million, International Business Times reported Tuesday night.

The next nominating contest for the Democrats is the Nevada caucus Saturday, Feb. 20. After that is the South Carolina primary one week later.