Elizabeth Warren Outraises Joe Biden in Third Quarter With $24.6 Million Haul

Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s (D-MA) campaign announced Friday that she raised $24.6 million in the third quarter, a massive haul placing her among the top fundraisers in the 2020 Democratic primary field. 

According to the campaign, Warren’s fundraising tally came from 509,000 donors and 943,000 contributions, with an average donation of $26. More than 300,000 of the donors gave for the first time in the third quarter and Warren’s campaign now touts $25.7 million in cash on-hand. The campaign has accrued around 750,000 donors throughout the cycle, according to an aide.

The haul places Warren just behind Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), who raised $25.3 million, which is the single-best reported quarterly haul of any candidate thus far in the 2020 cycle. Perhaps more crucially, Warren’s tally cements the fact that the two candidates who have eschewed the fundraising circuit and relied on small-dollar contributions easily outraised former Vice President Joe Biden, who is also among the frontrunners for the Democratic nomination. 

Biden’s campaign announced Thursday that he raised $15.2 million, which put him behind Warren, Sanders and South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg. It also represented a decline from his prior total of $21.5 million raised between his late April campaign launch and July. According to NBC News, this drop-off also came in conjunction with Biden attending more fundraisers in the third quarter than in the second. 

For Warren, the trend line has moved in the opposite direction. Despite some concerns about early anemic fundraising, the Massachusetts Democrat raised more than $6 million in the first quarter, then more than $19 in the second, and finally almost $25 in the third. 

Late last month, the campaign had already hinted at a large fundraising haul when they announced an eight-figure ad buy in the early voting states as well as expanded resources in states with down-ballot and Senate races.