Pete Buttigieg, mayor of South Bend, Ind., and candidate in the Democratic presidential primary, raised $24.8 million over the last three months, his campaign announced on Monday — an impressive total that will likely cement the mayor's status as a serious contender for the nomination.The campaign said he has raised money from more than 400,000 individual donors since the campaign began, with an average contribution of $47.42.“This fundraising report shows that Pete’s message is resonating with Americans, and it’s proof that we are building an organization that can compete,” Mike Schmuhl, Buttigieg’s campaign manager, said in an email to supporters announcing the haul.The second-quarter total, which came from more than 294,000 donors, will likely give Buttigieg the ability to establish a sprawling campaign infrastructure similar to those set up by his more established opponents, such as Senator Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) and former vice president Joe Biden.While his opponents have not yet released their second-quarter fundraising totals, Buttigieg's position is expected to improve relative to the first quarter, when he came in fourth, with a $7.1 million haul behind Sanders ($18.2 million), Senator Kamala Harris of California ($12 million), and former congressman Beto O’Rourke of Texas ($9.4 million). Biden had not yet entered the race.The fundraising numbers are welcome news for a candidacy that was nearly derailed earlier this month following the police shooting of a black man in South Bend. Angry constituents berated Buttigieg during a series of town-hall meetings about the racial composition of the city's police force, and he was forced to address the controversy during the first primary debate last week.“I couldn’t get it done,” he said of his efforts to diversify the police force in South Bend.
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