[W]ASHINGTON — Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., led the pack for fundraising in the first quarter of the year, according to campaign finance disclosures filed by Vermont’s congressional delegation with the Federal Election Commission.
Sanders, who is up for re-election this year, had $6.9 million on hand in his campaign coffers as of the end of March. He has not yet formally declared that he will run to keep his seat.
He brought in nearly $1.3 million during the first quarter of the year.
All but $10,000 of his contributions came from individuals. However, he also accepted $10,000 total from political action committees of labor unions and an environmental group.
Sanders has continued the strategy he took during his 2016 presidential bid of soliciting small donations in emails from his campaign.
Meanwhile, recent polls show that Sanders is sitting very comfortably in his home state. In the most recent ranking from Morning Consult, Sanders retained his status as the senator with the highest approval rating.
Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vt., who is also up for re-election this year, had $2.1 million on hand at the end of the reporting period, according to his filing.
Welch raised a total of $116,520 during the quarter.
The majority of Welch’s donations came from political committees associated with labor unions, industry groups and companies, like T-Mobile and General Motors. He brought in $89,000 total from committees, according to the disclosure.
An additional $27,520 was donated from from individuals.
Dan Freilich, a Brownsville physician who is challenging the six-term incumbent for Vermont’s sole House seat, closed out the quarter with $3,272 cash in hand
His campaign reported bringing in $9,383 during the first quarter.
Freilich filed his candidacy in September. This was his first finance disclosure report filed with the FEC.
Meanwhile, Sen. Patrick Leahy, who won reelection for his eighth six-year term in 2016, reported net contributions of $73,156 in the first quarter of the year. An additional $17,100 was transferred from the Leahy Green Mountain Committee, a political action committee.
Leahy had $1.7 million in cash in his campaign coffers at the end of March, according to the latest report.
