Sanders campaign has slight star appeal

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) may not have received the droves of Hollywood support that Hillary Clinton has enjoyed, but his new fundraising numbers come with some help from a handful of celebrity backers.

{mosads}Actors Mark Ruffalo, Alfred Molina, Bill Smitrovich and Richard Arquette are supporters of the Vermont independent’s longshot bid against Clinton, as are actresses Susan Sarandon and Deidre Hall. 

Ruffalo and Sarandon previously supported efforts to convince another liberal senator, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), to enter the race. The two joined more than 80 other members of Artists for Warren, which sent her a letter attempting to convince her to run in February, according to USA Today.

Ruffalo didn’t exactly empty out his pockets, donating $100, while Sarandon gave $1,000. 

Molina, who starred in movies including “Spider-Man 2” and “The Da Vinci Code,” gave another $1,000, and Smitrovich of “Iron Man” fame gave about $650. 

Arquette, the brother of actors Patricia and David Arquette, gave $422. 

None of those donors maxed out their donations by hitting the $2,700 aggregate donation cap stipulated by federal campaign finance law. That’s part of the Sanders strategy that allows the campaign to continue to go back to its donor base to refill its pot without having to do more legwork to find other donors able to give. 

Sanders’s strategy netted him $15 million from 250,000 donors, more donors than any other candidate on either side of the aisle. All but 1 percent of his donors gave $250 or less, his campaign said in a statement.