Bernie Sanders told supporters that his campaign has raised over $2.5 million in the twenty-four hours following the first Democratic debate on Tuesday.
The evening after the debate, the socialist senator from Vermont headed to Los Angeles, where he held numerous fundraisers, including a fancy Wednesday event at the home of real estate mogul Syd Lebovitch.
This is only the ninth traditional fundraiser that Sanders’ campaign has hosted since he began his campaign on April 30, as he has built his campaign around grassroots efforts and low-dollar donations. The event was more reminiscent of the upscale campaign events former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is known to host along the campaign trail, as a rock band played poolside and donors handed their car keys to valets before sampling a variety of wines and appetizers.
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While the minimum donation was $250, many of the wealthy attendees gave the maximum $2,700 donation , according to the pool report. During the event Sanders told guests his campaign has raised over $2.5 million since his debate and gave a truncated version of his normal stump speech, telling the high dollar donors that he does not “represent the interests of the billionaire class or corporate America.”
During the last fundraising quarter, the Sanders campaign raised $26 million to Clinton’s $28 million. The Clinton campaign has yet to report how much they have raised since the debate.
Sanders received popular reviews after his debate performance in Las Vegas. He defended his democratic socialist views as well as his unpopular opinions on gun control. Sanders got his best came when he told Clinton that Americans are “sick of hearing about your damn e-mails!” It’s unclear whether his refusal to go afte Clinton will help him in the primaries.
The same day as his fundraiser, Sanders held a events in Hollywood and taped an episode of the daytime talk show “The Ellen DeGeneres Show.”
