'He's the real deal': Beto's jaw-dropping windfall quiets critics

[DemocratSinceBirth]

Former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke raised $6.1 million in the first 24 hours after launching his presidential campaign, crushing the first day hauls of many of his Democratic competitors and surpassing even the massive 24-hour total brought in by Sen. Bernie Sanders.

“In just 24 hours, Americans across this country came together to prove that it is possible to run a true grassroots campaign for president — a campaign by all of us for all of us that answers not to the PACs, corporations, and special interests but to the people,” O’Rourke said in a statement released by his campaign.

O’Rourke, who officially jumped into the Democratic primary last week after months of speculation and immediately nabbed endorsements and wall-to-wall media coverage, initially refused to release his first-day fundraising numbers — a standard marker of early support in presidential races — like many of his competitors.

"I can't right now," he told reporters who asked about his initial fundraising totals, before clarifying himself. "Let me answer better: I choose not to."

On Monday, O’Rourke’s campaign touted its “grassroots” fundraising base, noting that the former congressman pulled in donations from all 50 states and every U.S. territory within the first 24 hours.

...

https://www.politico.com/story/2019/03/18/beto-orourke-2020-6-million-dollars-1224704

[Merlot]

1. Sad that fundraising and not policy is what makes a candiate

the "real-deal."