WASHINGTON — Bernie Sanders’ campaign said it raised nearly $2 million from the first Democratic debate of the 2016 race, and social media metrics showed he was the most-searched candidate on Google and most-discussed on Facebook and Twitter.
Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton’s backers celebrated the day after what some said was the best two hours of her campaign.
“We were over the moon,” said former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm, a Clinton backer who had traveled to Las Vegas to watch the first such confrontation among the 2016 Democratic nomination contenders. On morning cable news programs, Granholm could barely contain her glee. “It was such a great night,” she said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”
Both Sanders and Clinton on Wednesday were looking to build on their strong Democratic presidential debate performances as the rest of the field struggled to gain traction. The debate commanded by Clinton and Sanders appeared to narrow any opening for a presidential bid by Vice President Joe Biden, Democratic strategists said. Biden watched the Tuesday matchup from Washington.
“I was proud,” he said Wednesday during a White House meeting on infrastructure. “I thought every one of those folks last night — my own prejudice — I thought they all did well.”
A day after aggressively defending her long public-service record and contrasting it with that of Sanders, Clinton remained in Nevada, talking to local media in the early voting state.
Sanders was scheduled to attend a taping of “The Ellen Degeneres Show,” which has become a popular stop for presidential hopefuls.
The campaign is mapping out a strategy to convert its fundraising and enthusiasm into a winning organization that can compete in the early states and a slate of “Super Tuesday” states on March 1.
In another sign of its maturing operation, the campaign has hired Democratic pollster Ben Tulchin, whose past clients have included former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, who ran for president in 2004, former California Gov. Gray Davis and Sen. Patty Murray of Washington state.
“This campaign is in it for the long haul. This is not a flash-in-the-pan campaign,” said Sanders’ campaign manager, Jeff Weaver. “We’re going to have the resources to go all the way to the convention.”
