Bernie Sanders's Remarkable Small Donor Fundraising Should Scare Hillary Clinton - Vox

[WillyT]

Bernie Sanders's remarkable small donor fundraising should scare Hillary Clinton
Andrew Prokop - Vox
February 11, 2016, 8:10 a.m. ET

<snip>

Since the New Hampshire polls closed Tuesday night, Bernie Sanders has raised over $7 million — an incredible sum that's the most his campaign has ever raised in one day.

Even more importantly, the average donation Sanders received in that period was around $34, according to his team. That means that the vast majority of those givers will be able to contribute many, many, many more times without running afoul of contribution limits.

Essentially, the Sanders campaign can mint money now. This latest bonanza just appeared because Sanders won New Hampshire and, in his victory speech, asked people to donate. There's so much excitement about him that all he has to do is ask for cash and it pours in, with far less overhead costs compared to traditional fundraising events.

This is extremely consequential for how the Democratic contest will play out in the coming weeks and months. It guarantees that, as long as Sanders's small donor army stays hyped up, he'll be able to fund a national organization, pay for ads in every contested state, and remain in the race as long as he wants.

Hillary Clinton has no such advantage. Yes, she raised $40 million more than Sanders did in 2015, but the amount of money she actually had left in the bank — her cash on hand — was just $10 million more than Sanders had at the end of last year.

Crucially, Clinton's fundraising relied mostly on large contributions — which means that, unlike Sanders's small donor-heavy base, her givers are much more likely to hit the $2,700 per person primary contribution limit, and be barred from giving her any more cash afterward.

<snip>

More: http://www.vox.com/2016/2/11/10963902/bernie-sanders-fundraising

[ecstatic]

1. I donate when the nominee is selected.

I'm not heavily invested in the primaries.

[Warren Stupidity]

3. Then you are basically ceding the primaries to the

big money candidate.

[Krytan11c]

2. K&R

A campaign by the people for the people. Go Bernie, Go!!!