Democrat Mayor Pete celebrates raising $7 million this year

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democratic presidential contender Pete Buttigieg says he’s raised more than $7 million this year.

The South Bend, Indiana, mayor tweeted Monday his team’s initial report shows he and his supporters “are out-performing expectations at every turn.“

Buttigieg promised over the weekend there’d be a “celebration” with his announcement Monday, two months since he launched his exploratory committee.

Buttigieg says the first quarter fundraising total comes from a preliminary analysis and he’ll have a more complete analysis later. He says until then: “a big thank you to all our supporters.“

Buttigieg is known as Mayor Pete. He says he’ll release a video showing how he’s “spending the investments” supporters have made.

Former Texas congressman and Democratic 2020 candidate Beto O’Rourke says he raised slightly more than $1 million over the weekend, achieving his $1 million weekend fundraising goal.