President Trump shatters small-donor records, gets head start on 2020 race

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump smashed records for small-donor fundraising last year, surpassing President Obama’s performance and raising as much from small contributors as Hillary Clinton and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders combined, a new tally shows.

Trump and the joint fundraising committee he established with the Republican National Committee (RNC) collected 69% of its individual donations from people who gave $200 or less, according to the analysis by the non-partisan Campaign Finance Institute.

That puts Trump ahead of the 44% that Sanders and the 22% that Clinton each collected in individual contributions from small donors. It also exceeds the Obama’s haul from small contributors in 2012, who accounted for 28% of his individual donations in that election cycle..

In all, Trump and the RNC raised $238.6 million from small donors in 2016, far surpassing the $136.8 million and $99.7 million that Clinton and Sanders raised, respectively, from these kinds of political contributors.

Trump’s ability to attract small donors puts him in a strong financial position for his re-election battle, which already appears under way a little more than a month into his presidency. Trump hosted a campaign-style rally over the weekend in Melbourne, Fla.

As a candidate, Trump can seek repeated donations from his vast list of small contributors before hitting the $2,700 limit on what they can donate for the election.

This week, the RNC reported raising $19.8 million in January, its strongest January showing after a presidential election. The national party also has stockpiled $36.8 million in available cash. In addition, Trump’s main campaign committee also has significant cash reserves and started this year with $7.6 million remaining in the bank.

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