WASHINGTON (JTA) — After virtually tying with Hillary Rodham Clinton in the Iowa Democratic caucus, Sen. Bernie Sanders raised $3 million in a 24-hour period, a record for the insurgent presidential candidate.
Sanders, I-Vt., who has abjured raising money from major givers, scored the amount from small donations online in the 24 hours after Monday’s vote, The Associated Press reported Wednesday. Clinton, long the presumed front-runner, claimed victory in Iowa, the first state to hold a vote, with a razor-thin margin.
Sanders and Clinton also agreed to add debates to what has been criticized as a sparse schedule of six for the Democratic candidates. A a newly scheduled debate will be held Thursday in New Hampshire.
With the advantage of being from neighboring Vermont, Sanders is heading into the New Hampshire primary on Tuesday with a substantial lead in the polls over Clinton. Combined with the strong showing in Iowa, a victory there could build on his momentum.
On the debates, the Sanders’ campaign, along with that of former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley, who dropped out after Iowa, had complained that the Democratic National Committee had scheduled only six, including some on Saturday night, when viewership is low, because its chairwoman, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., is aligned with Clinton.
Heading into the campaign, Clinton had a reputation of being uneasy on stage stemming in part from her failed 2008 bid, when Barack Obama prevailed in the debates. She has fared well, however, in this campaign’s debates, and her advisers have urged her to more forcefully confront Sanders as his bid gains traction.
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