How campaigns spend money is as important as how much they raise. Using the latest Federal Election Commission reports, FiveThirtyEight.com ranked the Democratic field by burn rates. Andrew Yang has the highest burn rate (83.9%), raising $5.3 million and spending $4.4 million. Marianne Williamson came in second (82.2%), raising $3.1 million and spending $2.5 million. Jay Inslee (77.7%), John Hickenlooper (73.6%), Julian Castro (72.5%), John Delaney (71.9%), Seth Moulton (62.7%), Tim Ryan (62.3%), Robert Francis O’Rourke (60.1%), Cory Booker (57%), Tulsi Gabbard (56.2%), and Joe Biden (50.6%), all had burn rates of 50% or higher.
The rest of the field had lower burn rates. Amy Klobucher (47.2%), Kamala Harris (47.1%), Mike Gravel (45.2%), Kirsten Gillibrand (44.7%), Elizabeth Warren (44.5%), Bernie Sanders (41.2%), Michael Bennet (37.5%), Bill de Blasio (33%), Pete Buttigieg (29.9%), and Steve Bullock (28.1%) all had burn rates under 50%.
A campaign’s cash-on-hand number and burn rate can be a sign of viability and a smart campaign. How much these campaigns raise and how they spend it over the next few months could winnow the field as the primary race heads into the election year.
