The presidential campaign of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders announced Wednesday that it had collected more than 1 million individual donations, claiming to reach that goal faster than any presidential candidate in history.
“A short while ago, we flew past our goal of 1 million online contributions to our campaign,” Sanders campaign manager Jeff Weaver said in an email to supporters.
It’s impossible to verify the claim, as campaign’s are only required to itemize donations of more than $200 each.
Sanders has long highlighted the small size of his average contributions as he runs an insurgent campaign against Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton, arguing that while she has more money, he has a wider donor base. Sanders’ average donation is just $24.86, according to the campaign.
RELATED: Will Bernie Sanders run negative ads after all? ‘We’ll see’
Clinton raises much of her money at high-dollar fundraisers in which attendees are expected to contribute the maximum $27,000. But she’s been soliciting $1 donations lately in an effort to expand the number of contributors and contributions.
Wednesday marks the final day in the fundraising financial quarter and thus a key deadline for political fundraising. Campaigns will release financial reports next month, which will be heavily scrutinized as a sign of strength or weakness.
Alex Seitz-Wald