Bernie Sanders earned $1.3 million in donations after Tuesday's debate

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published 14 October 2015

Here's a quick and easy way to raise money for your presidential campaign: Be Bernie Sanders. That's apparently all it takes for the self-proclaimed "Democratic Socialist" to rake in the dough, after his campaign reported raising $1.3 million in donations in the four hours after the Democratic debate began Tuesday night.

While opinions are split on which Democrat "won" the debate — Sanders or Hillary Clinton — there's no question that it was Sanders who really fired people up. According to research conducted by a number of different publications, Sanders was the most talked about candidate of the night on social media. His campaign capitalized on his engaged fan base, too, asking for donations "before Bernie steps off the stage," The Washington Post reports.

Sanders has raised money from more than a million unique donations since the start of his campaign, with 99 percent of all donations being in sums of $100 or less. The average donation to his campaign, Sanders reports, is just $30. Sanders recently reported earning $26 million from campaign donations, while Hillary Clinton, his primary competition, eked ahead by just a nose with $28 million to her name.

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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.

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