福克斯新闻首席政治主播布雷特·贝尔指出民主党总统候选人伯尼·桑德斯筹集了3450万美元的资金，并指出这位来自佛蒙特州的参议员“一点也没有减速”，而是随着第一轮初选的临近而“加速”。
贝尔的评论是在福克斯新闻节目的一个片段中发表的美国新闻编辑室周四，他讨论了民主党主要候选人在2019年第四季度的筹款结果，以及唐纳德·特朗普总统的筹款结果4600万美元的巨额捐款。虽然福克斯新闻的政治主播强调特朗普庞大的政治战争资金，但他强调桑德斯在民主党初选中的势头越来越大。
“你必须给伯尼·桑德斯加分，”贝尔说。“记住，他在一个曾经是[20多名候选人的大领域筹集资金。”主持人指出桑德斯3450万美元捐赠的“关键部分”是“他们都是小捐赠者”
“这大约是18美元，是对伯尼·桑德斯的平均捐赠，随着他继续筹集资金，所有这些人都有更多可以做的事情，”他断言。联邦选举委员会限制个人向特定候选人捐款的数额，2020年总统初选周期的最高限额为每位候选人2800美元。然后，捐助者可以在大选期间再捐助2 800美元，对任何候选人总共捐助5 600美元。
“所以，伯尼·桑德斯一点也没有减速，”贝尔说。“事实上，我认为他在加速。随着你越来越接近爱荷华州预选和新罕布什尔州初选，如果伯尼·桑德斯最终就在那里，不要感到惊讶。主持人还解释说桑德斯面临民主党内部的反对，并指出“有些人非常担心”他在选民中的受欢迎程度。
一些著名的民主党人批评并驳回了桑德斯的候选人资格，因为他们认为他离成功竞选特朗普还差得太远。桑德斯作为独立人士而不是民主党人在参议院任职，这也让该政党的成员感到沮丧。他自称是民主社会主义者谁相信“强有力的民主”但是一些人担心美国选民对社会主义的负面看法。然而，尽管遭到了反对，桑德斯已经证明了他是一股不可忽视的力量，因为他继续在全国范围内以及在早期投票的各州进行民意测验。
民主党总统候选人参议员伯尼·桑德斯(佛蒙特州)12月31日在爱荷华州得梅因的除夕夜竞选活动上发表讲话
桑德斯竞选团队及其代理人吹捧这位候选人在2019年成功获得了500多万笔小额捐款，并指出这是“在我国历史上总统选举的这一时刻，比任何竞选团队收到的捐款都多”
这位参议员在1月1日给支持者的一封电子邮件中说:“我们在民主党初选中有500万个人捐款，但还没有投第一票。”。“对特朗普来说，我相信我们至少会有5000万个人捐款。每件27美元，这将超过10亿美元，”他乐观地补充道。
桑德斯在周四下午的推特上表示，2019年第四季度，“令人难以置信的30万人首次向我们的活动捐款”。他在最后一个季度总共收到了180万英镑的捐款，仅去年一年就筹集了9600多万美元。在民主党阵营中，桑德斯在筹集的美元和捐款数量方面明显领先。
与此同时，根据《真实透明政治》的全国平均民调，前副总统乔·拜登仍然是民主党竞选的领先者。拜登以28.3%的支持率领先，紧随其后的是桑德斯，支持率为19.1%，然后是马萨诸塞州参议员伊丽莎白·沃伦，支持率为15.1%，排在第四位的是印第安纳州南本德的前市长皮特·巴蒂吉，支持率为8.3%。
真实透明政治组织在爱荷华州的平均民调也显示桑德斯以20%的支持率位居第二，但落后于拥有22%支持率的巴蒂吉格。拜登紧随其后，支持率为18.8%，沃伦为16%。在新罕布什尔州，桑德斯以19%的微弱优势领先，接下来是巴蒂吉格17.7%，拜登14.3%，沃伦13.3%。
FOX NEWS ANCHOR REACTS TO BERNIE SANDERS $34.5 MILLION DONATIONS, SAYS CANDIDATE IS 'SPEEDING UP'
Fox News chief political anchor Bret Baier pointed to Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders' $34.5 million fundraising haul, noting that the senator from Vermont is "not slowing down at all" and is instead "speeding up" as the first primaries draw closer.
Baier's comments came during a segment of Fox News show America's Newsroom on Thursday, as he discussed the fundraising results of the leading Democratic candidates in the fourth quarter of 2019, as well as President Donald Trump's massive $46 million in contributions. While the Fox News political anchor highlighted Trump's large political war chest, he emphasized Sanders' growing momentum in the Democratic primary race.
"You have to give Bernie Sanders credit," Baier said. "Remember he's raising money with a big field that at one time was [more than] 20 candidates." The anchor pointed out that "the key part" of Sanders' $34.5 million in donations is that "they're all small donors."
"It's about 18 bucks, is the average donation to Bernie Sanders and all of those people have a lot more that they could do as he continues to raise money," he asserted. The Federal Election Commission limits the amount that individuals can contribute to a particular candidate, with the max for the 2020 presidential primary cycle set at $2,800 per candidate. Donors can then contribute up to another $2,800 during the general election, for a total of $5,600 to any individual candidate.
"So, Bernie Sanders is not slowing down at all," Baier stated. "In fact, I think he's speeding up. As you get closer and closer to the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary, don't be surprised if Bernie Sanders is right there at the end." The anchor also explained that Sanders faces opposition from within the Democratic Party, noting that "some are very concerned" about his popularity with voters.
Some prominent Democrats have criticized and dismissed Sanders' candidacy, as they see him as too far left to run a successful campaign against Trump in the general election. Sanders serves in the senate as an independent, not a Democrat, which also has frustrated members of the political party. He describes himself as a democratic socialist who believes in "vigorous democracy," but some are concerned about negative perceptions of socialism among American voters. Despite the pushback, however, Sanders has demonstrated that he is a force to be reckoned with as he continues to poll well nationally, as well as in early voting states.
Democratic presidential candidate Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) speaks at a New Year's Eve campaign event on December 31 in Des Moines, Iowa
The Sanders campaign and its surrogates have touted the candidate's success in garnering more than 5 million small donations over the course of 2019, noting that this is "more contributions than any campaign has received at this point in a presidential election in the history of our country."
"We have 5 million individual donations in a Democratic primary that hasn't even cast its first vote yet," the senator said in an email to supporters on January 1. "Against Trump, I believe we will have 50 million individual contributions, at least. And at $27 a piece, that would be more than $1 billion," he added optimistically.
In a Thursday afternoon tweet, Sanders said that "an incredible 300,000 people donated to our campaign for the first time" in the fourth quarter of 2019. In total, he received 1.8 million contributions during the final quarter, and raised more than $96 million last year alone. Among the Democratic pack, Sanders is the clear fundraising frontrunner in terms of dollars raised and the number of contributions.
Meanwhile, former Vice President Joe Biden has remained the frontrunner in the Democratic race, according to an average of national polls by Real Clear Politics. Biden leads with 28.3 percent support, followed by Sanders with 19.1 percent, then Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts at 15.1 percent, and in fourth place, former Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Indiana, at 8.3 percent.
An average of Iowa polls by Real Clear Politics also showed Sanders in second place at 20 percent, but behind Buttigieg who has 22 percent. Biden was close behind with 18.8 percent and Warren was at 16 percent. In New Hampshire, Sanders narrowly led with 19 percent, followed by Buttigieg at 17.7 percent, then Biden at 14.3 percent and Warren at 13.3 percent.
