Yang expects to raise more than $12.5 million in fourth quarter

Tech entrepreneur Andrew Yang expects to raise more than $12.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2019, an impressive haul for the previously little-known political outsider who has outlasted a number of more established contenders in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination.

The Yang campaign’s national press secretary, S.Y. Lee, told The Hill that the campaign’s fourth quarter haul will outpace its third quarter mark by more than 25 percent with two days still remaining in the year. Yang raised $10 million in the third quarter. 

“We expect to raise more than $12.5 million, at least 25 percent more than the previous quarter, which will enable us to keep pace with the establishment campaigns that are likely to outraise us,” Lee said.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) topped the field in the third quarter, raising $25.3 million. There have been no signs that the Vermont senator’s fundraising pace will slow down in the fourth quarter.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) nearly matched Sanders with a $24.6 million haul in the third quarter, but she has warned donors that her fundraising has slowed. As of last week, Warren said she had brought in $17 million and set a goal of hitting the $20 million mark for the fourth quarter.

Former Vice President Joe Biden came in at $15.2 million in the third quarter, followed by Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), who has since dropped out of the race, at $11.6 million.

The Yang campaign has ramped up spending in recent weeks as it seeks to capitalize on its fervent base of online support in the run-up to the Iowa caucuses.

The campaign has been adding senior members to its national team, opening new offices across Iowa and has partnered with a top-tier Washington consulting firm to cut advertisements.

Yang has been polling in the single digits in surveys of Iowa and New Hampshire, but polling has been sparse in December and the campaign hopes the candidate will get a bump in new surveys released in January.

Yang was one of only seven candidates on stage for this month’s debate in Los Angeles, and the campaign said it received a flood of new donations following the event.