Democratic presidential hopeful Pete Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend, has raised more than $7 million for his exploratory committee, he said in an early morning email to supporters.
The first financial reporting period ended at midnight Monday.
"This is a big number for us. We are not part of the national political machine," Buttigieg, the two-term mayor of South Bend, said in the email. "We started with just about 20,000 people on our email list, and not many people even knew who I was. But as more and more people around the country begin to hear our bold vision for the future, more and more people are investing in this effort."
Buttigieg told supporters other campaigns will report larger numbers.
"This has always been an underdog project," Buttigieg said in the email. "But with a first fundraising report like this, we certainly cannot be ignored."
