Joe Kennedy raises nearly $2 million in the first quarter, will resume campaigning during coronavirus

U.S. Rep. Joseph Kennedy III raised nearly $2 million this quarter in his bid to unseat U.S. Sen. Edward Markey — despite not actively fundraising for the last two weeks during coronavirus — and will resume campaigning, according to his team.

Kennedy brought in $1.95 million since January, his campaign manager, Nick Clemons, said in an email to supporters Wednesday.

The new sum is less than the $2.4 million Kennedy raised in the last quarter of 2019. But it comes as coronavirus has ground the economy — and political campaigns — to a near-halt.

“We are proud of this number, given that we have not actively fundraised since March 18,” Clemons wrote. “The vast majority of our funds were raised in January and February, prior to the state of emergency.”

Kennedy heads into the next quarter with $6.2 million in cash on hand to take on Markey, who chose not to suspend activities as coronavirus ramped up in March and had been actively seeking donations ahead of Tuesday’s Federal Election Commission deadline.

Kennedy has been using his campaign’s social media accounts to keep supporters informed on the fight against COVID-19, bringing on emergency room doctors and economists to talk about the virus’s impact over the course of 29 livestreams since March 13. He also tapped his email list to raise nearly $40,000 for relief organizations and $15,000 for personal protective equipment for frontline workers nationwide.

Clemons called the move to digital the “new normal” as coronavirus wears on and expects the campaign to reflect that shift as it reboots. He said volunteers will be mobilized to check in on older residents across the state and that the campaign will launch a series of regional virtual town halls.

“We know we will need to resume some basic campaign activities in the weeks ahead, but we are putting a lot of time and thought into how we do that in a way that reflects Joe’s deep belief that little else matters right now except keeping the people we love safe,” Clemons said.

Clemons also addressed the state Democratic Party’s decision to cancel its May convention over coronavirus concerns.

“We’ve known since the start of this campaign that Sen. Markey would emerge on top at the convention, given how heavily this process favors incumbents. As we’ve said publicly since day one, our goal was to get the 15% of delegates needed to qualify for the ballot, and then move beyond this insider game to statewide voter outreach,” Clemons said. “We’re proud that Joe managed to crush that goal, securing about 35% of elected delegates.”

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/2UYBaTA