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With Primary Season In Final Stretch, Sanders Reports Slowed Fundraising

Sen. Bernie Sanders campaigns in Pennsylvania before the state's April 26 primary.
Jessica Kourkounis
/
Getty Images
Sen. Bernie Sanders campaigns in Pennsylvania before the state's April 26 primary.
/ Sources: Federal Election Commission, Bernie 2016 campaign
/
Sources: Federal Election Commission, Bernie 2016 campaign

The campaign of Sen. Bernie Sanders announced on Sunday that his campaign raised $26 million in April, fueled largely by small donations, a drop-off from the $46 million he raised in March and $42 million in February, according to the Federal Election Commission.

The slowing pace comes as the primary season heads into its final month, with Sanders practically out of reach of the Democratic nomination.

Sanders has outpaced Clinton in fundraising, though. His campaign pointed out that the $26 million he raised in April exceeds the $21 million she raised in March. Clinton's campaign has not yet released April fundraising numbers.

Sanders often points out on the campaign trail that his average donation totals $27, but in April his campaign says the average donation was $26. Clinton's average donation has remained above $40.

In total, Sanders has now crossed the $200 million mark for the campaign — with a fundraising sum of $210 million. As of last month, his total fundraising was outpacing Hillary Clinton by nearly $20 million.

Sanders is vowing to continue his campaign to the end, and the continued flow of money, even if it's slowing, means he can. The Sanders campaign announced last week that it was slashing its staff to about a third of its size from a month ago, with most primaries in the rear view mirror and prospects for a general election campaign for Sanders evaporating.

Aside from fundraising totals, Sanders has a less favorable picture when it comes to the numbers that decide the nomination: Delegates. His opponent, Hillary Clinton, now has more than 90 percent of the delegates she needs to clinch, with superdelegates included. Clinton has a lead in pledged delegates of more than 300.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Arnie Seipel
Arnie Seipel is the Deputy Washington Editor for NPR. He oversees daily news coverage of politics and the inner workings of the federal government. Prior to this role, he edited politics coverage for seven years, leading NPR's reporting on the 2016, 2018 and 2020 elections. In between campaigns, Seipel edited coverage of Congress and the White House, and he coordinated coverage of major events including State of the Union addresses, Supreme Court confirmations and congressional hearings.

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