Bernie Sanders Amasses $6 Million Campaign Account [View all]

Vermont's three members of Congress continued to amass multimillion-dollar campaign war chests in 2017, according to new reports submitted this week to the Federal Election Commission.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) accumulated a whopping $6.17 million, his year-end report shows. That's for Sanders' as-yet-undeclared 2018 senatorial campaign, which is where he's been funneling all his political donations. He can, of course, transfer that money to a presidential campaign organization, should he choose to seek the Democratic nomination in 2020.

During the fourth quarter of 2017, Sanders raised almost $693,000 (virtually all from small individual donors) and spent $379,000. Those are fairly astounding figures, but they pale in comparison to the inflow and outflow earlier in the year. During the second quarter, for instance, his campaign raised $1.3 million. The bottom line: Sanders has an unmatched ability to raise seemingly limitless funds without reliance on political action committees or generous oligarchs.

And between his bank account and his home-state popularity, it's hard to imagine a serious Republican challenge to his bid for reelection. Assuming, of course, that there is such a bid. Sanders himself resolutely turns away any question about his 2018 plans, though his former campaign manager and chief of staff hints there will be.

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