Biden raises $6.3 million within first 24 hours of presidential campaign

Biden beats the number of donations raised by Bernie Sanders

Online donations to the former vice president, already considered the frontrunner among the Democrats seeking to challenge President Donald Trump, saw 61 percent of total money raised came from new doShow more

US Presidential candidate Joe Biden raised $6.3 million in the first 24 hours of his campaign, beating Bernie Sanders and Bero O’Rourke.

According to TJ Ducklo, part of Biden's campaign team, 97 percent of those donations were under $200.

Precisely 96,926 people donated money on the first day – which averages out at $65.

Bernie Sanders, who raised $5.9 million, and Beto O'Rourke, who brought in $6.1 million on their first day of campaigning, were soundly beaten on the funding front.

Fellow Democrat Elizabeth Warren raised “more than $6m” in the first quarter of 2019, according to her campaign, with an average donation of $28. Sanders raked in $18m at an average of $20, and Kamala Harris garnered $12 million – her campaign said the average donation was $55.

Biden has joined most of the rest of the Democratic field in swearing off donations from Washington lobbyists and PACs associated with corporations. But he did hold a fundraiser on the first day of his campaign at the Philadelphia home of David Cohen, a Comcast executive.

Biden served as former President Barack Obama's vice president for two terms. He is competing with 19 others for the Democratic presidential nomination and the chance to likely face President Donald Trump next year in the general election.

Mr Biden is under spotlight for his interactions with some women.

He recently faced renewed scrutiny about his longtime propensity for touching and kissing strangers at political events, with several women publicly saying he had made them feel uncomfortable.

Those close to him praise Mr Biden for his warmth and humility. He was photographed travelling by train on Thursday moments after announcing his candidacy.