Beto O'Rourke Raised $9.4M in First 18 Days, Enough for Third Place So Far; Pace Dropped Fast After Day 1 Haul

WASHINGTON -- Beto O'Rourke raised $9.4 million in his first 18 days as a presidential candidate -- enough to put him in third place, so far, in the money chase.But nearly two thirds of that poured in within the first 24 hours -- a $6.1 million initial haul that tamped down doubts about whether he could translate his eye-popping, record-setting Senate fundraising ability and harness that support for a presidential bid.That means the pace dropped significantly in the next 17 days, suggesting that while the former three-term congressman from El Paso has the funds to ramp up a serious effort, he may yet struggle to keep pace with the likes of Sen. Bernie Sanders, who raised nearly twice as much in the first quarter of 2019.The Vermont senator brought in $18.2 million, though he had 41 days between jumping into the race and the end of the first quarter of 2019, on March 31.Two other Democratic contenders have reported their quarterly tallies.Sen. Kamala Harris of California brought in $12 million.Pete Buttigieg, mayor of South Bend, Ind., raised $7.1 million.  Continue reading...