Winners and losers from first fundraising quarter

The last of the first-quarter campaign finance reports were made public Monday, providing the most complete picture of who's ahead and who's behind in the presidential money race among declared candidates.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) leads the pack on the Democratic side with a massive $18.2 million haul. But even that sum pales in comparison to the $30 million President Trump brought in from January through March.

And while it’s still early in the election cycle — the Iowa caucuses are almost 10 months away — the fundraising numbers are an indication of each contender's strength and longevity in what’s expected to be an expensive race.

Here are some of the winners and losers from the first quarter of 2019.

WINNERS

South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg (D) - The South Bend, Ind., mayor’s transformation from a relative unknown on the national stage to a political force to be reckoned with was solidified in his $7 million first-quarter haul.
While several other Democratic hopefuls outraised him, his fundraising total was seen as a sign of momentum for a candidate who entered the presidential race as a newcomer to national politics. Buttigieg spent only about $685,000 in the first quarter and ended March with $6.4 million in the bank, giving him a burn rate of less than 10 percent — a sign that he’s bringing in crucial campaign cash a lot faster than he’s spending it.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) - Sanders topped the growing Democratic field, raking in more than $18 million in the roughly six weeks that followed his mid-February campaign launch. With an average donation size of $20 and roughly 900,000 individual contributors, the Vermont senator showed he has an edge among grass-roots donors. His campaign spent just over 27 percent of the money it took in — a relatively low burn rate for a candidate with proven fundraising abilities. He ended the quarter with almost $15.7 million in the bank.

President Trump - Trump's campaign committee received more than $30 million in the first three months of 2019, leaving him with a massive $40 million in funding more than a year and a half before Election Day. Incumbency is a potent fundraising tool for presidents, and Trump started to take in money for his reelection campaign earlier than his White House predecessors.