JOHN YANG: The crowded race for the Democratic presidential nomination has started to winnow,
and this week we will learn which of the remaining 21 candidates will be on the debate stage
next month.
It's likely just half of the field will meet the polling and donor requirements.
Lisa Desjardins reports that the 2020 hopefuls are competing for attention and dollars.
JOSEPH BIDEN (D), Presidential Candidate: So, please, please go to JoeBiden.com and
sign up and join our campaign.
We need your help.
LISA DESJARDINS: As the 2020 Democratic candidates debate policy, at the heart of the crowded
race is a fight for money.
The race's top five candidates in the polls are also the top five fund-raisers.
PETE BUTTIGIEG (D), Presidential Candidate: I hope I can look to you to continue helping
us grow this movement.
LISA DESJARDINS: Leading the pack, the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, Pete Buttigieg.
He raised nearly $25 million from April to June of this year, according to financial
filings.
Former Vice President Joe Biden followed with $22 million, then three senators, beginning
with Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, $19 million, then Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders,
$18 million, in fifth, California Senator Kamala Harris, $11.8 million.
REP.
TULSI GABBARD (D-HI), Presidential Candidate: A dollar, $5, $10, whatever they can, to make
sure that we're able to get our message out there.
LISA DESJARDINS: After that, a stark gap in the field, in both money raised and polling,
with a brutal fight for funds among the remaining candidates.
MICHELLE YE HEE LEE, The Washington Post: It's been a real slog trying to come out of
the crowd the
LISA DESJARDINS: Michelle Ye Hee Lee covers money and politics for The Washington Post.
MICHELLE YE HEE LEE: The more and more that the five do better, the gap just continues
to grow.
REP.
SETH MOULTON (D-MA): I am running an insurgent campaign.
LISA DESJARDINS: Unable to close that distance, Massachusetts Congressman Seth Moulton And
Washington Governor Jay Inslee dropped out of the race last week.
Both had yet to meet fund-raising or polling qualifications for the third Democratic debates
in September.
JULIAN CASTRO (D), Presidential Candidate: People pitching in a dollar, $5, $10, $20.
And that's the spirit that I'm going to move forward in, in this campaign.
LISA DESJARDINS: Julian Castro last week became only the 10th candidate to qualify for the
debates.
So far, that leaves 11 others off next month's stage.
SEN.
BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT), Presidential Candidate: I am asking for your help.
LISA DESJARDINS: But even the top five fund-raisers have been struggling to pull in steady funds
among the crowded field.
And how they're going about it varies greatly.
MICHELLE YE HEE LEE: You see Joe Biden really coming out of the gate with a fund-raiser,
a private fund-raiser held at the Comcast executive's home.
And he is -- this is kind of like old school
SEN.
ELIZABETH WARREN (D-MA), Presidential Candidate: I'm not taking a dime of PAC money in this
campaign.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
MICHELLE YE HEE LEE: At the other end of the spectrum is Elizabeth Warren, who has rejected
that type of fund-raising overall completely.
And she's only raising money from grassroots donors, and she's doing really well.
DONALD TRUMP, President of the United States: I stand before you to officially launch my
campaign for a second term as president of the United States.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
LISA DESJARDINS: And then there is President Donald Trump's reelection campaign, which
he kicked off right after his inauguration in 2017.
Mr. Trump's reelection effort has so far outraised all the Democratic candidates and the Democratic
National Committee combined by about $100 million, with a mix of small donors and multimillion-dollar
closed fund-raisers.
That's giving his campaign a decided advantage at targeting voters.
MICHELLE YE HEE LEE: He's been able to shape the message online and on TV, run ads, really
get to know the voter base very well, and know how to reach these people, so that they
could turn out on Election Day for him.
LISA DESJARDINS: Democratic donors on the other hand, especially the high-dollar ones,
are largely still untapped.
Many donors are still waiting for the race to narrow before making their contributions,
while smaller donors are spreading their money across several different candidates.
MICHELLE YE HEE LEE: They know the money is out there.
The question is whether the money spigot is going to really open up in time for the presidential
nominee to be able to catch up to the lead that President Trump has.
MARIANNE WILLIAMSON (D), Presidential Candidate: Please give at least a dollar, so I can get
those donations up.
LISA DESJARDINS: Candidates who don't make the third debate stage in less than three
weeks will likely need to reevaluate whether they have the cash or support to stay in the
race.
And that's good news for anxious Democratic donors, who say a final Democratic nominee
can't come soon enough.