Abstract
The shift to small- dollar fundraising in the 2020 Democratic nomination contest is not only a change in how campaigns operate. Campaigns that depended on small donors also shifted their rhetoric and behavior, flaunting their “outsider,” populist credentials and decrying politics as usual. The new power of small donors has the potential to be the greatest challenge to the control of party elites over the presidential nomination process since the reforms of the 1970s.
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Notes
These results are calculated by the author based on data at OpenSecrets.org.
Sanders raised $216 million and Warren raised $127 million through March 31, 2020. Michael Bloomberg and Tom Steyer spent more money than Sanders and Warren, but nearly all of their funds came from spending their own money. Joe Biden finished sixth in spending in the 2020 nomination contest, behind the candidates listed above and Pete Buttigieg.
This quote is from a Google Doc titled “No Fossil Fuel Money Pledge: Frequently Asked Questions,” which is linked from the NoFossilFuelMoney.org website. The link to the Google Doc is: https://docs.google.com/document/d/130r69xbsc63IU3TvX9CfAWRYSmxNNy4jcu5tv6xvYxo/edit
All quotes from the debate come the transcript made available by Rev.com, https://www.rev.com/blog/transcripts/december-democratic-debate-transcript-sixth-debate-from-los-angeles
The 2020 Republican primary results can be found at https://www.usatoday.com/elections/results/primaries/republican/
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Arbour, B. Tiny Donations, Big Impact: How Small-Dollar Donors are Eroding the Power of Party Insiders. Soc 57, 496–506 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12115-020-00520-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12115-020-00520-4