Washington (CNN) Pete Buttigieg raised $24.8 million from 294,000 people in the second quarter of 2019, his campaign said in an email Monday, a massive haul for a candidate that was largely unknown six months ago.

The South Bend, Indiana, mayor enters the third quarter of the year with $22.6 million cash on hand, campaign press secretary Chris Meagher said, and the campaign's donor base has grown to 400,000 total unique donors for the entire campaign, with 230,000 new in the second quarter. Buttigieg's average contribution size for the cycle is $47.42, the aide added.

The sizable amount, more than triple his first quarter take, did not come easily. Buttigieg, more than any other candidate not named Joe Biden, has spent considerable time raising money at top-dollar, in-person fundraisers over the last three months.

Buttigieg headlined over 70 in-person fundraisers this quarter, including over a dozen large "grassroots" events that blend the size of a large campaign rally with the cash generation power of a fundraiser, an aide told CNN. Chasten Buttigieg, the mayor's husband, has also become a draw on the fundraising circuit and has headlined a handful of events himself, too.

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