Former Vice President Joe Biden. Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images
Joe Biden's campaign said on Thursday it has raised $15.2 million in Q3, setting the former vice president in 3rd place among the 2020 Democrats who have released their totals thus far.
The state of play: Sen. Bernie Sanders currently leads all 2020 Democrats in Q3 fundraising with $25.3 million, followed by Mayor Pete Buttigieg with $19.1 million. President Trump's re-election campaign and the Republican National Committee recently said they raised a whopping $125 million for Q3, setting a new presidential fundraising record.
- The Biden campaign reported an average donation of $44.
- Biden's campaign manager said in a Thursday press release that the campaign has gone forward with "a $6 million ad buy across television and digital in the early states."
Between the lines: Online donations helped Democrats break fundraising records in 2018 and it’s fueling a lot of 2020 candidates now. But, as the New York Times reports, Biden has scaled back on digital ads in favor of more traditional TV advertising in places like Iowa. That might be a play to his older supporters, but he would be likelier to meet young voters where they are online.
- Biden's team has admitted he’s so far not performing well with younger voters: "It’s not any secret that Biden’s support is strong with older voters," a Biden campaign official said in September. "It’s a big base to have. But we need to do a better job and we will, because we’re not as strong among younger voters.”
- Meanwhile, Tara McGowan, a Democratic digital strategist, told Axios she’s "starting to see more primary candidates focus spending and messaging on Facebook to target Iowa voters specifically, which was expected but interesting to note this early."
Where other Democratic candidates stand:
- Sen. Bernie Sanders: $25.3 million
- Mayor Pete Buttigieg: $19.1 million
- Sen. Kamala Harris: $11.6 million
- Former tech executive Andrew Yang: $10 million
- Sen. Cory Booker: $6 million
- Author Marianne Williamson: $3 million
Go deeper: Trump campaign, RNC say they raised record-breaking $125 million in Q3