Sanders Campaign Still Leads In Fundraising; Its Spending Is Even Higher

By Peter Overby / NPR

Published May 20, 2016 at 3:45 PM PDT

This story was published more than 8 years ago.

Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders addresses a rally Wednesday at the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds in San Jose, Calif. The senator's campaign is intently focused on a big win in the state on June 7, and has poured money into TV ads there.

The Sanders campaign feels the burn rate.

Its cash-on-hand plummeted last month, from $17.5 million in March to just $5.8 million on April 30. The numbers were reported in the campaign's monthly filing at the Federal Election Commission.

The drop followed a sharp fall-off in fundraising. Although Sanders has led Hillary Clinton in fundraising every month this year, April receipts totaled only $26.9 million, versus $46 million in March.

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Sanders has poured money onto California's costly TV markets, as he fights for an edge in the June 7 primary. His March fundraising — his strongest this year — barely outpaced his spending. And in April, spending exceeded receipts by 43 percent.

Clinton's FEC report shows April fundraising off 7 percent from March — $25 million versus 26.8 million. But she spent relatively little, $23.9 million, and finished April with $30.2 million available. Her cash on hand has been in the range of $30 million on six of the seven reports filed since the campaign began.

A new microsite launched by the Sanders campaign celebrates its fundraising, which has set records for small-donor contributions. The site says the campaign has 2.4 million donors, and has raised 94 percent of its money online.