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


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.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
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.
-
Trump vows to lift Syria sanctions
speed read The move would help the new government stabilize the country following years of civil war
-
Senate rejects Trump's Library of Congress takeover
speed read Congress resisted the president's attempts to control 'the legislative branch's premier research body'
-
Hamas frees US hostage in deal sidelining Israel
speed read Edan Alexander, a 21-year-old soldier, was the final living US citizen held by the militant group
-
White Afrikaners land in US as Trump-declared refugees
speed read An exception was made to Trump's near-total ban on admitting refugees for the white South Africans
-
Qatar luxury jet gift clouds Trump trip to Mideast
speed read Qatar is said to be presenting Trump with a $400 million plane, which would be among the biggest foreign gifts ever received by the US government
-
Trump taps Fox News' Pirro for DC attorney post
speed read The president has named Fox News host Jeanine Pirro to be the top federal prosecutor for Washington, replacing acting US Attorney Ed Martin
-
Trump, UK's Starmer outline first post-tariff deal
speed read President Donald Trump and British Prime Minister Kier Starmer struck a 'historic' agreement to eliminate some of the former's imposed tariffs
-
Fed leaves rates unchanged as Powell warns on tariffs
speed read The Federal Reserve says the risks of higher inflation and unemployment are increasing under Trump's tariffs