Biden raises $21.5M for '20 campaign

But ex-vice president’s 2nd-quarter donations still trail Indiana’s Buttigieg

Democratic presidential candidate and South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg speaks during a news conference at the Rainbow PUSH Coalition Annual International Convention in Chicago, Tuesday, July 2, 2019. (AP Photo/Amr Alfiky)
Democratic presidential candidate and South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg speaks during a news conference at the Rainbow PUSH Coalition Annual International Convention in Chicago, Tuesday, July 2, 2019. (AP Photo/Amr Alfiky)

WASHINGTON -- Former Vice President Joe Biden has raised $21.5 million since launching his White House bid in late April, his campaign said Wednesday. While Biden's haul will put him in the top tier of Democratic fundraisers, he lags behind Pete Buttigieg, a 37-year-old Indiana mayor who was virtually unknown a few months ago.

Buttigieg's campaign announced earlier in the week that he posted a $24.8 million second-quarter haul.

Biden sits atop most early polls and will have the money he needs to compete aggressively throughout the primary. But his standing as the party's elder statesman hasn't scared off his rivals, and it's clear voters are still open to other options.

Some Democratic strategists anticipated a larger fundraising number from Biden, given the connections he forged during his years as vice president and as a long-serving U.S. senator.

Still, the former vice president's supporters say they aren't worried.

"When you are the far and away front-runner, everybody is shooting at you," said Steve Westly, a Silicon Valley venture capitalist who is raising money for Biden. "One thing you have to keep in mind is this campaign is a marathon."

In addition to Biden and Buttigieg, who is the mayor of South Bend, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders also reported a large figure, pulling in $18 million. Yet to be seen are figures from Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and California Sen. Kamala Harris, who saw a fundraising surge after her breakout performance during last week's Democratic debates.

Sanders led Democrats in fundraising during the first quarter of the year. Faiz Shakir, his campaign manager, attributed his current position further back in the pack to his rejection of high-dollar fundraisers, which Buttigieg and Biden have embraced. Instead, Sanders' campaign is fueled by small-dollar online donations from a working-class base, he said.

When it comes to fundraisers, Biden opens his big-dollar events to members of the media. Buttigieg does not and his campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday about whether that practice will change.

Biden is coming off several shaky weeks, including a moment on the debate stage during which he struggled to respond to pointed questions from Harris about his past positions on school busing.

A member of his finance team, California attorney Thomas McInerney, withdrew his support, pointing to Biden's recent comments highlighting his work with segregationists in the Senate.

Biden's campaign has tried to frame his $21.5 intake as a big win. His campaign said in an email to supporters on Monday that they "blew our fundraising goal out of the water."

In the end, though, Buttigieg packed in more fundraisers, often doing a handful of events in a day. As the first openly gay man to launch a major bid for the presidency, he also received an outpouring of financial support from the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.

Biden kept a lighter fundraising schedule.

A clearer picture of the race will emerge once the numbers are reported on July 15. Candidates must reach 2% in at least four polls in addition to collecting contributions from at least 130,000 donors to appear on the September debate stage.

Information for this article was contributed by Sara Burnett and Nicholas Riccardi of The Associated Press.

A Section on 07/04/2019

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