Progressives rake in cash and senators prepare for tough races: Takeaways from the new campaign finance reports LOTS OF SMALL DONATIONS ADD UP! IF YOU CAN, A $5 DONATION MATTERS! excerpt: Cash boom for vocal anti-Trump Democrats Progressives who have emerged as the most vocal counterweights to Trump posted massive fundraising hauls in the first three months of the year — even though they either aren't up for re-election in 2026 or won't face competitive races. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., brought in $11.5 million over that span, including almost $10 million from donations of less than $200. After spending about $3.2 million, he finished with $19 million banked away. The $11.5 million total underscores the huge donor base Sanders has built since his first Democratic presidential bid in 2016, and is more than he raised during the entirety of 2023 and 2024 combined, when he was on the ballot for another Senate term. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., who has been barnstorming the country with Sanders and trying to step into her party’s leadership void, raised $9.6 million in the first quarter and had $8.2 million in cash on hand. Ocasio-Cortez spent significantly to help raise that money, $5 million overall, as she’s been flooding social media with fundraising videos. But she’s seen a significant return, far greater than the $1.3 million she raised in the first quarter of 2023. Ocasio-Cortez faces re-election next year in a safe Democratic district, but her strong fundraising won’t quell speculation that she’s eying higher office down the road. Other Democrats who have sought a higher profile in the second Trump administration posted big numbers, too. Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., who told NBC News earlier this year that he wants to “build a movement” to help fight Trump, raised $8 million in the first three months of the year, which is more than what he raised across all of 2024, when he was up for re-election. He also spent $4 million in the first quarter. And Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., a potential 2028 presidential contender who compared Vice President JD Vance to Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin at a speech Tuesday, raised $3.7 million. Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., received significant praise from Democrats after his marathon speech on the Senate floor highlighting his frustration with the Trump administration. But that speech came after the books closed on the first quarter, so it won’t be clear whether that translated to a fundraising boom until later this summer.
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