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The three Republican senators who are running for president — Ted Cruz, Rand Paul and Marco Rubio — all boasted about raising $1 million in their first 24 hours as candidates. But they have nothing on Bernie Sanders.

The independent senator from Vermont, who announced Thursday that he is running as a Democrat, said Friday that he had raised $1.5 million online in less than a full day as a candidate. The support came from 35,000 donors who contributed an average of $43.

Mr. Sanders has said that small donations will be his only chance of defeating Hillary Rodham Clinton for the nomination, because he has no “billionaire and millionaire” friends and does not intend to depend on the backing of a “Super PAC.”

“A successful national campaign will require the active participation of millions of Americans in every community in our country,” Mr. Sanders said in a Facebook post. “With your help, we are off to a great start.”

Mr. Sanders, 73, has a strong base of support on social media. His fund-raising announcement was liked by more than 2,000 people in less than an hour.

That announcement could also be the first instance of Mr. Sanders’ putting pressure on Mrs. Clinton. She has yet to release fund-raising figures since announcing her candidacy on April 12.