Former Rep. Beto O’Rourke, D-Texas, got more bang for his buck after announcing his run for president than his 2020 Democratic rivals, raising more than $6 million online in the first 24 hours of his campaign.
O’Rourke, who served in the House from 2013 to 2019 and ran a closer-than-expected Senate race last year, announced Thursday he was joining a growing group of White House hopefuls.
The campaign said Monday it raised $6,136,736 entirely online and from all 50 states.
That amount set a record for 2020 Democratic candidates, narrowly beating Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., who raised $5.9 million in his campaign’s first 24 hours.
Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., raised $1.5 million in her campaign’s first day. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., brought in more than $1 million in her first 48 hours.
O’Rourke’s one-day haul is nearly a quarter of what former President Barack Obama raised in his entire first quarter in 2007, his first presidential race. The candidates’ first quarter fundraising reports will be released April 15.
The campaign of O’Rourke, 46, declined to say what its average contribution was and how many donors contributed within the first day.
