Sanders sets high bar with $25.3 million Q3 haul, Buttigieg falls short of his Q2

As House Democrats' impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump fuels the president's re-election campaign effort as well as his 2020 Democratic challengers' war chest, Sen. Bernie Sanders kick starts the third quarter fundraising announcement battle with a high bar.

The Vermont senator's campaign on Tuesday announced raising a whopping $25.3 million in Q3 -- the largest quarter for any Democratic candidate this year, and a number that, on its own, eclipses Sen. Elizabeth Warren's entire first and second quarters' total.

The Sanders campaign's latest massive third quarter total shows his continued grassroots fundraising power despite recent polling that shows his campaign losing ground to Warren and continuing to trail Joe Biden.

The $25.3 million haul came from 1.4 million donations for an average contribution of $17.90, with an average contribution for the year of $19 from more than 3.3. million donations, according to the campaign.

As for unique donors, less than two weeks ago, the Sanders campaign became the fastest in history to eclipse 1 million, and the campaign continues to note with pride that Sanders is not participating in high-dollar, closed-door events -- indirectly throwing some shade in the direction of Joe Biden, Kamala Harris and Pete Buttigieg, among others.

"Bernie is proud to be the only candidate running to defeat Donald Trump who is 100 percent funded by grassroots donations – both in the primary and in the general," Sanders’ campaign manager Faiz Shakir said. "Media elites and professional pundits have tried repeatedly to dismiss this campaign, and yet working-class Americans keep saying loudly and clearly that they want a political revolution."

Sanders' fundraising total for the year now sits north of $61.5 million, not including $12.7 million in transfers from his other campaign accounts.

Meanwhile, South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg's campaign announced Tuesday morning that the campaign raised $19.1 million in the third quarter, falling short of his $24.8 million second quarter haul that had placed him on top of the Democratic field in the fundraising race.

Around 182,000 new people donated to the campaign in the third quarter, bringing their total unique donors to more than 580,000. The average donation in Q3 was roughly $32, with a total average contribution for the year at $40, according to the campaign.

The Indiana Democrat, who has been balancing strong support from both grassroots donors and traditional high-dollar donors, has raised more than $51 million since the beginning of 2019 from more than 1.2 million donations.