Raskin raises over $1.3 million from more than 7,000 individual contributions in his campaign for Congress
February 1, 2016
“We’re setting a national record for grassroots financial support,” Raskin says
SILVER SPRING, MD – Today State Senator Jamie Raskin announced he has raised over $1,300,000 from more than 7,000 individual contributions in his campaign for Congress, including more than $375,000 from 2,200 contributions in the most recent fundraising quarter (Q4). After the only published poll in the race showed Raskin with a strong 9-point lead after months of grassroots organizing and a resonant message of effective progressive leadership, he enters 2016 with more than $869,000 in the bank.
“Public office is something you earn, not something you buy,” Senator Raskin said, “and there is a big difference between an election and an auction. So this is not a race to see who can spend the most money or buy the most TV ads--and if it is, I want nothing to do with it. All we need and all we want is enough money to get our message of serious and effective progressive leadership out to the people of the 8th District whom we have not yet met. And thousands of supporters have stepped up to make sure that we won’t be drowned out in the next 85 days. We are exactly where we want to be.”
Raskin emphasized that “this campaign is grassroots, locally rooted, and focused on Maryland, and we have raised a ton of money. We are going to have all the resources we need to keep up with the millions of dollars that keep dropping out of the sky into the 8th Congressional District. Tonight we are having two more events in people’s living rooms, one in Bethesda and one in Chevy Chase, and we are raising thousands of dollars every day in small contributions from people who want effective progressive leadership to go and challenge the big money system in Washington.”
Raskin continues to build his campaign on a staggering number of individual donors, which has set national records for non-incumbent Democrats running for Congress. This fundraising report highlights Raskin’s constantly growing local grassroots support: 60% of Raskin’s total fundraising haul comes from citizens of Maryland, and 65% of his Maryland donations have come in amounts $100 or less. Fully 76% of Raskin’s total donations over the course of his nine- month campaign have come in amounts of $100 or less.
“The reason we’ve earned more than 7,000 individual donations and have been endorsed by the Congressional Progressive Caucus, the Sierra Club, and more than 75 elected and former elected officials, including Attorney General Brian Frosh, is because they all know I’ve been a relentless and effective advocate for progressive change. I’ve worked to defend civil rights and liberties, to ban assault weapons, to dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and to improve the public infrastructure and uplift the living standards of the besieged middle class,” said Senator Raskin. “Our campaign is driven by progressive ideas and grassroots activism, and we will have all the resources we need to beat big-money politics in the Citizens United era.”