Democratic 2020 presidential contender Pete Buttigieg raised a hefty sum of money in the 24 hours after his CNN town hall.
Buttigieg received $600,000 from more than 22,200 donations, an aide to the former South Bend, Ind., mayor told CNN.
Buttigieg said he was “thrilled” by the influx of support.
“We’re not accepting corporate PAC money and we don’t have the gilded fundraising base that comes with being a more established figure in Washington, so grassroots fundraising will be crucial for this effort,” he said. “It’s clear there’s a real appetite for a new kind of messenger in our party, and I am working hard to seek new audiences and further expand our growing base.”
Buttigieg’s performance in the town hall Sunday evening was widely lauded, but it was his calling Vice President Mike Pence a “cheerleader of the porn star presidency” that generated the most headlines.
“How would he allow himself to become the cheerleader for the porn star presidency? Is it that he stopped believing in scripture when he started believing Donald Trump?” Buttigieg asked of Pence, a former governor of Indiana. “I don’t know. I don’t know.”
Buttigieg has a tough task ahead to stand out in a crowded Democratic primary field. He doesn’t chart in RealClearPolitics’ average of polls and in the most recent poll from Monmouth University he received less than 1 percent of the vote.
[Also read: Obama mentor Dick Durbin talks up South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg]
