Politics

‘I’m Concerned’: Obama-Era Finance Guru Lays Out Where Dems Are Going Wrong

A stack of U.S. dollars. By MediaPhoto.Org - mediaphoto.org Own work, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=27854373

Former President Barack Obama’s finance manager said Monday that the current crop of Democratic candidates vying for the White House is falling well behind those who ran during the 2008 presidential election.

“I have to say it: I’m concerned by how little money the 2020 Dem candidates are raising,” former Massachusetts congressman Rufus Gifford told his Twitter followers. Gifford, who Obama’s finance director during the former president’s re-election campaign in 2012, went on to highlight reasons for his concerns.

“For context: in Q1 2007 with individuals able to give less money ($2100 vs $2800 now) which was the last time there was a large Dem primary field, the top three candidates were: Hillary: 26 mill Obama: 24 mill (John) Edwards: 14 mill,” he noted before asking one of his Twitter followers why 2020 candidates are not raising money.

Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont raised approximately $300,000-per-day after his official announcement with former Rep. Beto O’Rourke of Texas raising only $200,000-per-day. The $100,000-per-day advantage put Sanders on track to raise $9 million more than O’Rourke in the next quarter if the current daily average holds, FiveThirtyEight editor-in-chief Nate Silver noted April 3.

California Democratic Sen. Kamala Harris took in $1.5 million in 24 hours and Democratic Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar hit the $1 million mark in 48 hours.

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