Beto goes to ‘grassroots,’ raises $6M in 24 hours

Beto O’Rourke announced Monday he raised more than $6 million in the first 24 hours of his 2020 presidential campaign, breaking a previous record set by Bernie Sanders.

After kicking off his 2020 bid Thursday morning, O’Rourke said he raked in $6,136,763 by Friday morning from individual donors across all 50 states.

“Americans across this country came together to prove that it is possible to run a true grassroots campaign for President — a campaign by all of us for all of us that answers not to the PACs, corporations and special interests but to the people,” the former Texas congressman (photo) said in a statement.

The 46-year-old Democrat proved his fund-raising prowess last year, drawing a whopping $70 million for his failed midterm bid to unseat Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas).

Vermont Sen. Sanders, one of O’Rourke’s top challengers in the crowded Democratic primary field, previously held the 2020 campaign cycle fund-raising record, collecting about $5.9 million in the first 24 hours of his campaign launch last month.

Trailing behind O’Rourke and Sanders, California Sen. Kamala Harris got third place in fund-raising, with supporters giving her about $1.5 million within 24 hours of her Jan. 21 announcement.

Fourteen Democrats have already announced bids to challenge President Trump in 2020, and former Vice President Joe Biden is rumored to be considering joining the fray as well.

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand is the only New Yorker running so far.