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The 2020 White House race is sparking massive spending and fundraising by the Democratic field, and Bernie Sanders continues to lead the pack when it comes to getting the most money from supporters, raking in about $122 million to date.
But self-funded billionaire Mike Bloomberg, whose net worth tops $60 billion, is well ahead of his rivals in spending, even topping the other billionaire contender, Tom Steyer.
The former New York City mayor on Thursday disclosed that his campaign has shelled out $409 million as of Jan. 31, fueled by his contribution of $464 million of his own money. Steyer, worth an estimated $1.6 billion, has reported spending $254 million while donating $267 million of his own money.
The MarketWatch chart below features the eight contenders still in the race for the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination. The blue bars show how much they’ve raised from supporters, while the green ones show how much they’ve gotten from their own coffers, an old Senate or House campaign account or a loan. The red bars indicate how much they’ve spent.
The chart just covers each candidate’s principal campaign committee, rather than including money from super PACs or other so-called independent groups.
And see: These are the basics of campaign finance in 2020 — in two handy charts
The figures above all come from disclosures filed Thursday that reveal fundraising and spending through Jan. 31. Since it’s an election year, monthly totals now must be reported to the FEC by White House campaigns, rather than just quarterly figures.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s latest filing shows some money challenges last month. The disclosure indicates she borrowed $400,000 and finished January with $2.3 million in the bank after spending $22 million during the month while getting about $10.4 million from donors.
The Massachusetts politician’s campaign has noted its fundraising success in February, saying it had raised more than $17 million as of Thursday. Warren, viewed by some analysts as the winner of Wednesday’s primary debate, also has become the latest 2020 Democrat to get a super PAC’s support, after she previously criticized this type of big-money organization.
After Iowa’s mismanaged caucuses and New Hampshire’s primary, former South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg has the most delegates with 23. He’s followed by Sanders with 21, Warren with eight, Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota with seven and former Vice President Joe Biden with six. No other contenders have won delegates so far, as the field prepares for Nevada’s caucuses on Saturday.
See: Democrats’ primary battle shifts to Nevada, South Carolina as Biden maps a comeback
In a RealClearPolitics moving average of national polls as of Friday, Sanders is leading the 2020 Democrats with support of 28.7%, followed by Biden at 17.3%, Bloomberg at 15.2%, Warren at 12.7%, Buttigieg at 10% and Klobuchar at 6.7%. No other contender is above 3% in nationwide surveys.
On the Republican side, President Donald Trump’s principal campaign committee on Thursday reported raising $229 million as of Jan. 31 while spending $154 million.
