Mayor Pete surges, nabs $24.8M boost

Pete Buttigieg raised a whopping $24.8 million in the second quarter, cementing his place in the top tier of the 2020 Democratic presidential field.

Mayor Pete more than tripled his haul of $7 million from the first quarter and has a bulging $22 million war chest.

Buttigieg (photo), who got donations from 400,000 people, has risen from virtual anonymity to the top tier of the Democratic field. He is polling fourth or fifth in most surveys and has been doing even better among donors.

“Pete’s message is resonating with Americans, and it’s proof that we are building an organization that can compete,” campaign manager Mike Schmuhl wrote.

The first openly gay candidate for the White House wasted little time trumpeting his big score. He became the first Democrat to update supporters on his performance Monday morning for the three-month period that ended Sunday night.

That deafening silence you’re hearing from the other leading candidates? It might indicate that they can’t match Mayor Pete’s eight-figure windfall.

Democrats have until July 15 to file the data, meaning any candidate with underwhelming numbers may want to avoid unwelcome attention by holding them until then.

Mayor de Blasio’s spokeswoman said Hizzoner wouldn’t be giving an update before July 15. A spokesman for Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, who has struggled to gain traction, did not respond to inquiries about her fundraising.

Top tier Democrats have been scrambling in the past couple of weeks to meet with donors in hopes of coming up with a last-minute burst of campaign cash.

Front-runner Joe Biden said he had already raised $18 million by mid-June.