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Bennet raises $2.8 million in first two months of campaign

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Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet raised $2.8 million in the first two months of his presidential campaign, a Bennet spokeswoman said Wednesday.

Bennet’s haul is substantially less than the more than $24 million South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg says he raised and the $18 million Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders says he raised, though Bennet’s entry into the race was delayed after a diagnosis of prostate cancer and subsequent surgery.

Bennet’s $2.8 million raised also significantly outpaces what fellow Coloradan John Hickenlooper raised in the second quarter. A source familiar with the former Colorado governor’s campaign told CNN on Tuesday that Hickenlooper raised $1 million in the second quarter.

“In just two months, Michael has set himself apart from other candidates, showing he has the breadth of experience and record of winning tough races to defeat Donald Trump,” said Shannon Beckham, Bennet’s spokeswoman. “Despite Michael entering the race late because of a prostate cancer diagnosis, we raised more in two months than several other campaigns did in the entire first quarter.”

She added: “We’re building a sustainable, long-term campaign to defeat Donald Trump, and we’re just getting started.”

Beckham also said that Bennet plans to transfer $700,000 from his Senate account, meaning the campaign will file a $3.5 million haul to the Federal Election Commission for the second quarter.

Bennet turned in an aggressive debate performance during the first series of Democratic debates, regularly jumping into conversations and taking a notable shot at front-runner and former Vice President Joe Biden’s ability to negotiate with Republicans, calling the budget deal Biden struck with Sen. Mitch McConnell in 2011 a “complete victory for the Tea Party.”

Bennet’s campaign said that the day after the debate, the senator received “the highest number of donors since the week it launched,” including 54% of whom were new to the campaign.