After months of losing the money race to Bernie Sanders, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton outraised him by almost $10 million in April, further solidifying her status as the Democratic presidential frontrunner.
Sanders, who pulled in more than $44 million in March for his best month so far, raised just $28.5 million in April.
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Clinton, meanwhile, raised $36 million in April, with $9.5 million going to the Hillary Victory fund, a joint fundraising outfit that includes the campaign, the Democratic National Committee and state parties. The remaining $26.4 million went directly to the former First Lady’s campaign, which starts May with $30 million on hand.
April marks the first time this year that Clinton has outraised Sanders. Her strong performance in April comes at a rough time for the Sanders team. Last week the campaign announced it would lay off more than 200 campaign staffers; the decision followed a bad night for Sanders on Tuesday, when he lost four out of five Northeast states.
On Sunday, Sanders held a press conference in Washington in which he renewed his appeals to superdelegates backing Clinton in states he’s won to throw their support to him. However, despite his reference to a possible “contested convention” in July, Clinton’s lead appears to be insurmountable at this point.
April’s fundraising numbers underscore the challenge for Sanders. He had already spent $166 million by the end of March on his presidential bid, more than any other candidate in 2016, including Clinton, according to The Washington Post.
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In order to keep pace with Clinton, Sanders needs to raise the kind of money he was getting in the first three months of the year. The latest fundraising totals, however, suggest his fundraising is drying up, making it harder for the campaign to carry on and putting Sanders in a weaker position to negotiate for a progressive platform at the convention in July.
