Bernie Sanders’ campaign announced Monday it had raised $36 million so far in February and was hoping to close out the month having raised $40 million.
The announcement comes as Sanders looks for a boost before the Super Tuesday contests, following his drubbing in South Carolina Saturday.
The $36 million raised in February would bring the total raised by Sanders to roughly $131 million, and continue giving him the fuel needed to do battle with Hillary Clinton, even if a path to the nomination has narrowed greatly.
Sanders’ digital fundraising operation — buoyed by a strong email list, text pleas and a base of support built with young voters — has proven to be one of his campaign’s most effective tools. In the 24 hours after his 22-percentage point win over Clinton in New Hampshire, Sanders announced raising $6.4 million.
That money has allowed him to keep pace with Clinton on-air. The latest CMAG/Kantar Media numbers showed Clinton has spent $38.4 million on-air and Sanders has spent $38.1 million.
But that money has not always been a guarantee of success. In South Carolina, he almost matched Clinton, spending $1.7 million to her $2.1 million, but he lost that race Saturday by a whopping 48 percentage points. And, according to exit polls, he barely made inroads with black voters there.