WASHINGTON (AP) — Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren said Friday that she raised $21.2 million from October through December, with more than $1.5 million coming on the last day of the year. But the Massachusetts senator still trailed a trio of other top rivals in fundraising and fell short of her total from the three previous months.
Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar said she took in $11.4 million for her White House bid to close out the year. It was her campaign's best fundraising quarter.
Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, the strongest progressive voice along with Warren, said he raised more than $34.5 million in the same quarter, proving that his heart attack in October hasn't slowed his fundraising prowess. Sanders and Warren both rely heavily on small donations from donors that primarily come online.
Former Vice President Joe Biden rebounded from a summer slump to take in $22.7 million, also his best quarterly haul as a presidential candidate, while Pete Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, raised $24.7 million. Both typically use more traditional fundraising methods, including frequent gatherings with big donors that Warren and Sanders have shunned.
Entrepreneur Andrew Yang, who has not yet scored high enough in recent polls to qualify for the next Democratic presidential debate scheduled for Jan. 14 , announced receiving $16.5 million.
In the third quarter last year, Warren raised $24.6 million as months of strong, summer polling lifted her to front-runner status along with Biden and Sanders. But lately, Warren's support has plateaued as Buttigieg has vaulted among the front-runners. Warren and Buttigieg have feuded for weeks about fundraising tactics, but Warren's latest donations total further suggests her overall momentum is slowing.
It could have been worse. In an email to supporters last week, Warren's campaign said it had raised only about $17 million with just a few days to go in the quarter — which may have helped trigger the final-hours-of-the-year donation infusion. In a message Friday, Warren campaign manager Roger Lau said the senator's average contribution was $23, proving the grassroots nature of her appeal.
Lau wrote that, all told last year, nearly 1 million donors provided more than 2.7 million contributions to raise more than $71 million for Warren.
Klobuchar said 145,126 people donated between September and December, with an average contribution of $32. Campaign manager Justin Buoen struck a similar tone to Lau's, citing a "massive surge in grassroots support."
Buoen attributed that rise to the Minnesota senator's strong performances in fall debates, which he said helped the campaign double its staff in Iowa and New Hampshire, where voters cast the first votes for the Democratic nomination beginning Feb. 3, and invest in the next two states — Nevada and South Carolina. The campaign also is spending money in states that will vote in the March 3 Super Tuesday contests.
The large amounts of money for so many Democratic presidential hopefuls are a positive sign but also indicate that the fight for the party's nomination could continue for several months, making it difficult for candidates who don't have strong campaign funding to stay in the race to replace President Donald Trump.
Trump's campaign said it raised $46 million during the last quarter and had more than $102 million cash on hand. The size of the Democratic candidates' campaign bank accounts won't be clear until the Jan. 31 federal reporting deadline — and will provide a more complete picture of where each stands than just the announcements of how much money they raised in the fourth quarter.
As the number of Russian troops rose to 130,000 along its Ukrainian border, hopes for a diplomatic solution remain among world leaders. Jason McMann, head of geopolitical risk analysis at Morning Consult, joined Cheddar News to break down the fluid situation. "We saw signs pointing towards an increase in tensions between Ukraine and Russia, whereas today we're seeing some signs that the Russian government may be willing to continue down a path of diplomatic negotiations to try and find some sort of non-military solution," he said.
Nancy Pelosi and House Democratic leaders are now planning to amend the stop trading on congressional knowledge act, otherwise known as the 'Stock' Act. This 2012 law governs how members disclose the purchase or sale of stocks and amending it would close a loophole, eliminating the trading of individual stocks by members of congress. Pelosi has consistently opposed a ban on stock trading by lawmakers and congressional staff...so what's changed? Kedric Payne, Vice President of Campaign Legal Center, joins Cheddar News to discuss.
In a 5-4 vote, the U.S. Supreme Court allowed for a controversial new version of the Alabama congressional map to remain in place. The lower court had previously ordered that the state must redraw that congressional map because it violates the Voting Rights Act by diluting the political power of Black voters. Redistricting expert Yurij Rudensky joins Cheddar News to weigh in.
Florida lawmakers have introduced a controversial bill restricting some discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity in classrooms with young students. Supporters say the move empowers parents to have more of a say in what their children learn. Florida State Senator Shevrin Jones joins Cheddar News to discuss more.
Congress this week passed a bill that would end forced arbitration for workplace sexual assault and harassment, one of the most significant changes to employment law in years. Cheddar News speaks with Marjorie Mesidor, Sexual Harassment Attorney, who explains that arbitrators are often retired judges or attorneys who "tends to have a more conservative view both to law and rewards."
As the situation with Russia has grown more precarious, the White House urged Americans remaining in Ukraine to leave immediately. The Biden administration that it sees continuing signs of escalation but did not have specific information detailing a timetable for a potential invasion. Kristine Berzina, senior fellow and head of the geopolitics team at the Alliance for Securing Democracy, joined Cheddar News to provide her analysis. "There's talk of an impending phone call between President Putin, President Biden," Berzina said. "That is certainly a good sign to indicate that there would be significant cost."
Terrell Starr, host of 'Black Diplomats' podcast and senior nonresident fellow at the Eurasia Center for Atlantic Council, joins Cheddar News from Kyiv, Ukraine to discuss the mounting tension there.
The White House laid out plans for a $5 billion investment into a national network of charging stations to ease EV driving anxiety. Bruce Brimacombe, CEO of EV infrastructure GOe3 joined Cheddar News to discuss how much needs to be done for drivers to get over the fear of running out of energy. "People need to be able to do what they're doing now," he said. "But that is the way that if you're going to buy an electric car, you got to feel like you're not changing your world." Brimacombe noted that building out the infrastructure between cities was GOe3's own focus.
U.S. automakers are saying that the blockade of the Ambassador Bridge, a crucial border crossing between the U.S. and Canada, is affecting their production lines. Michelle Krebs of Cox Automotive warns that the disruption "couldn't come at a worst time," amid chip and labor shortages in Detroit.
AND DETROIT-BASED AUTO MAKERS SAY THEY ARE SHUTTING DOWN PLANTS OR SCALING BACK PRODUCTION BECAUSE OF PARTS SHORTAGES.
