Beto O'Rourke might be winning the money primary — at least by one metric

Former congressman Beto O'Rourke has raised $9.4 million in 18 days, bringing in more money per day than his 2020 competitors, his campaign announced on Wednesday.

O'Rourke's campaign said it took in 218,000 contributions during that time, with an average donation of $43, and with a majority of donors being people who didn't give to his 2018 Senate campaign, per The New York Times. The campaign raised an average of $522,000 per day, putting his pace above that of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who has raised $444,000 per day, Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), who has raised $171,000 per day, and South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg, who has raised $103,000 per day, per NBC News' Mark Murray. Other Democrats have not yet announced their fundraising totals.

O'Rourke had previously announced $6.1 million raised in his campaign's first 24 hours, meaning he raised an additional $3.3 million since then. NBC's Ben Kamisar points out that if you discount the first 24 hours, though, Sanders has actually raised more money per day than O'Rourke: $305,000 per day vs. $194,117 per day.

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O'Rourke's campaign is the latest to announce its fundraising total for the first quarter of 2018, with Sanders having raised $18.2 million, Harris having raised $12 million, and Buttigieg having raised $7 million. Although O'Rourke's total is below that of Sanders and Harris, they also announced before he did — Sanders declared his candidacy in February and Harris announced in January, while O'Rourke did not enter the race until March 14.