Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernard Sanders collected about $15 million in contributions in the first quarter since he entered the race, the Sanders campaign announced Thursday.
The haul confirms Mr. Sanders’ standing as the chief rival to front-runner Hillary Rodham Clinton, whose campaign said she is on track for a record-breaking $45 million for the quarter that ended midnight Tuesday.
Mr. Sanders, a Vermont independent and avowed socialist who is relying on a grass-roots movement to a propel his insurgent campaign, boasted that 99 percent of the nearly 400,000 contributions were for $250 or less.
The Sanders campaign said the average donation was just over $33. His total represents two months of fundraising since he entered the race April 30.
Mr. Sanders, who is calling for a political revolution form the left and is running against what he calls the “billionaire class,” has sworn off super PAC support and donations from mega-donors.
“I am more than aware that my opponents will be able to outspend us. But we are going to win this election,” Mr. Sanders told a crowd of 10,000 who tuned out Wednesday in Madison, Wisconsin, to hear him — the largest crowd yet for any candidate in the race.
“They may have the money but we have the people. And when the people stand together, we can win,” he said.
• S.A. Miller can be reached at smiller@washingtontimes.com.
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