Montana Gov. Steve Bullock raised $2 million since he declared his candidacy in mid-May through the end of June, meeting or exceeding the first-quarter fundraising totals of some primary rivals like Julián Castro and John Hickenlooper despite not appearing in the first round of Democratic primary debates.
“Since announcing his campaign in mid-May, Governor Bullock received grassroots support from all 50 states and raised over $2 million, without the transfer of other funds,” Bullock presidential campaign manager Jenn Ridder said in a statement Friday. “It’s clear Governor Bullock’s message of winning back places Democrats lost in 2016 and ending dark money’s corrupting influence will resonate in early states like Iowa and New Hampshire, and he will continue working to earn every vote.”
Castro, former housing secretary under Obama, raised $1.1 million in the first three months of 2019. Former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper raised just over $2 million in the first quarter of 2019. The two candidates have not yet announced their second-quarter hauls.
Hickenlooper’s struggling campaign faced high-ranking staff departures in recent weeks, prompting questions about how long he can remain in the race.
Bullock did not take the stage for the first round of Democratic presidential debates that took place last week after he failed to meet qualification thresholds of 64,000 individual donors or 1% support in three approved presidential primary polls. He appears, though, to have qualified for the second round of debates happening at the end of July, and is on track to bump California Rep. Eric Swalwell from the debate stage due to tie-breaking procedures that keep the number of debating candidates to 20.
Though the fundraising total could be encouraging for the Bullock campaign, it raised significantly less than what top-tier candidates brought in from April through June. Joe Biden raised $21.5 million, Bernie Sanders raised $18 million and Pete Buttigieg raised $24.8 million.
Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet, another low-polling Democratic presidential contender, reported raising $2.8 million in the second quarter of 2019 after announcing his candidacy May 2.
Bullock’s campaign did not disclose its cash-on-hand, number of donors, average donation or other metrics.
