Andrew Yang raises $10 million in third quarter
October 2, 2019Businessman Andrew Yang raised $10 million in the third quarter of the year — a huge jump in support for the outsider Democratic presidential candidate.
The haul is more than triple the $2.8 million Yang raised in the second quarter, as he has started to outpace sitting senators and other elected officials in polls. Yang finished September with more than $6 million in the bank, his campaign said.
Yang’s third-quarter fundraising finished ahead of Sen. Cory Booker — who announced Tuesday that he raised more than $6 million in the quarter — but behind Sen. Bernie Sanders; South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg; and Sen. Kamala Harris, the other three major presidential candidates who have announced their totals.
But Yang’s cash haul puts him firmly amid the top fundraisers in the Democratic field, likely cementing his place in the campaign through at least the first caucuses and primaries next year. He is just the sixth Democratic candidate to break the eight-figure mark in a quarterly fundraising period this year, joining Sanders, Buttigieg, Harris, former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Elizabeth Warren. Biden and Warren have not yet announced their third-quarter fundraising totals.
The Yang campaign said nearly 300,000 supporters have contributed so far, almost double the donor threshold required for candidates to qualify for the November debate.
"Andrew Yang is the only contender showing exponential growth in the third quarter, more than tripling his fundraising number from last quarter," campaign manager Zach Graumann said in a statement. "This grassroots fundraising total, with $6 million-plus in the bank, ensures this campaign will have the funding to compete and outperform expectations through Super Tuesday and beyond."
Yang saw major surges in donations around the September debate. His campaign previously told POLITICO he raised $1 million in the 72 hours after the debate — in which he announced a contest to give 10 families $1,000 a month as a trial run for his “Freedom Dividend,” a proposed universal basic income program.
Source: https://www.politico.com/