In his first day of campaigning as a presidential candidate, Texas Democrat Beto O’Rourke raised $6.1m (£4.6m), the largest of any 2020 candidate so far.
The rising star’s online fundraising haul managed to beat out Senator Bernie Sanders’ record of $5.9m last month in the first 24 hours of his campaign.
Like other Democrats, Mr O’Rourke has refused to take any money from special interest lobby groups or corporations.
The 46-year-old is one of 15 Democrats now in a bid for the White House.
According to his campaign, he received donations from every state and territory, totalling $6,136,763. The campaign did not release how many donors contributed.
In a statement, Mr O’Rourke said: “In just 24 hours, Americans across this country came together to prove that it is
possible to run a true grassroots campaign for president.”
This is not the first time his campaign has broken fundraising records. When he ran against Republican Ted Cruz for his Texas Senate seat, he broke Senate fundraising records by amassing more than $80m.
While Mr O’Rourke ultimately lost his tight race against Mr Cruz, he demonstrated an ability to run a successful campaign and drew comparisons with former President Barack Obama.
Speaking to reporters on Saturday, Mr O’Rourke said he had no “large-dollar fundraisers planned” and was ruling out “taking any PAC [Political Action Committee] money or any lobbyist money ever”.
Mr O’Rourke’s fundraising figure comes on the heels of his three-day campaign tour road trip across Iowa, the state that will hold the first US presidential caucus.
He will be campaigning in Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania this week.
During his Senate race last year, Beto O’Rourke raised money like a presidential candidate.
That was in a race against a Republican candidate, Ted Cruz, who was intensely disliked by the Democratic base, however.
Now that the Texan is a presidential candidate, could he replicate his success when his competition is a diverse field of like-minded opponents?
If the early results are any indication, the answer is a resounding yes.
The Texan’s $6.1m mark in 24 hours put him ahead of even Bernie Sanders, whose small-donor fundraising prowess was thought to be unrivalled.
It remains to be seen whether Mr O’Rourke’s pace can be sustained.
What is certain, however, is that this eye-popping number will put a big target on the Texan’s back. Even if current polls don’t show him as a front-runner, his opponents are going to treat him as such.
Other candidates are already taking veiled swipes at him, and their supporters and surrogates are pointing out his thin resume and sometimes chequered past.
This is just the beginning.
