This just in: Bernie Sanders raised $26 million between June 30 and September 30. Hillary Clinton raised $28 million. That’s not much of a dollar gap. The difference was much larger in the previous quarter, when Clinton raised $47.5 million and Sanders, $15.2 million.
But in order to figure out what this means you need to know where the money is coming from. Bernie’s is coming almost exclusively from small donors. Clinton has many small donors as well, but has also held lots of big-dollar fundraisers. According to a report this morning on NPR, she has often held several big-dollar funders in a single day. Just last night, hours before the end of the third quarter, she held a fundraiser at New York’s 40/40 Club where 130 attendees each forked up $1000 to $2700.
Compared to the Republican candidates, both Bernie and Hillary are living off the grass roots. Reports show every major Republican feeding off fat cats, giant super PACs, and secret “dark money” slush funds -- except for Donald Trump, who’s feeding off his own private slush fund (generously financed over the years by corporate welfare and the bankruptcy code).
But the truly amazing phenomenon – unparalleled in electoral history – is the surge in under-$100 donations to Bernie, and the complete lack of big money in his campaign. If you want to know what a candidate really stands for, always follow the money.
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