Randy Bryce, the union ironworker who launched a campaign against House Speaker Paul Ryan last month, is raking in money for his upstart effort.
According to his campaign, Bryce raised more than $430,000 since his formal launch on June 19, just 12 days before June 30, the second quarter campaign finance deadline. This whopping total, according to the campaign, was spread out over some 16,431 donations with an average contribution of just over $25.
The formal numbers and specific breakdown have yet to appear on the Federal Election Commission website prior to the filing deadline on July 15th.
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“Our shared values of putting working people first, fighting for everyone to have access to healthcare, and the importance of leveling the playing field has resonated with thousands of people from all different backgrounds,” Bryce said in a statement provided to The Daily Beast. “Just a few weeks into this race, we have seen what can happen when you have the power of working people on your side, and I am excited to work with everyone as we continue this fight through next November.”
Bryce’s haul is enormous in comparison to the most recent Democrats who have tried to dethrone Ryan.
In the last election cycle in 2016, Ryan Solen, the Democrat who went on to lose to Ryan in the general election last November collected a total of $21,908.31 in individual contributions over the same cycle. In the 2014 cycle however, Democrat Rob Zerban raised over $700,000 in individual contributions but it was over the two year period.
Bryce’s current total is still far from the millions raised by Jon Ossoff, the Democrat candidate who lost in a special congressional election against Karen Handel last month—in the most expensive House race in American history.
Bryce, who has gained popularity and an enormous Twitter following (using the handle @IronStache) since his campaign began, told The Daily Beast in an interview that he supports a single-payer healthcare model.
His poignant ad highlighting his personal experience with cancer and his mother’s multiple sclerosis has nearly 500,000 views on YouTube.
