Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) appears to be running short on cash ahead of the expensive June primary in California, having spent much of his money in states where Hillary Clinton has won.
Considering how much more expensive advertising is in the Golden State, Sanders’ cash crunch could not have arrived at a worse time.
According to the Los Angeles Times, Sanders’ fundraising for the month of April fell to $25.8 million. However, he raised $20 million more in both February and March, which may signal that he has spent the bulk of his funds in states where it mattered less. His fundraising since March has dropped by 44 percent.
Sanders backers are blasting the mainstream media for their perceived attempts to continue skewing coverage in favor of Clinton over the self-described democratic socialist. “You’ve got a narrative out there that Bernie can’t win, Bernie can’t win,” Sanders backer RoseAnn DeMoro told the Times. “But he raises [$26 million]. That’s the story.”
Following his victory in Indiana this past Tuesday, and the possibility that he could win again in West Virginia next week and Oregon soon after that, Sanders’ prospects for more fundraising in the weeks to come could be bright.
However, as the Times notes, “if Sanders does not come up with the cash to run an aggressive advertising push [in California], Clinton may opt to ease up herself. Her campaign has been conservative with its resources, even allowing itself to be outgunned on the air in key primary states as it redirects its attention to the general election.”
Sanders has raised $182.2 million so far, and Clinton has raised $256.2 million to date.
Follow Adelle Nazarian on Twitter @AdelleNaz
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