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Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) has a loyal base of donors who are the least likely to contribute to other Democratic presidential candidates. But when they do stray, Sanders supporters choose Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.).

Of Sanders’ donors, less than 9 percent also donated to Warren’s presidential campaign, totaling close to $5 million, OpenSecrets found. No other campaign got donations from even 5 percent of Sanders’ donors. On the other side, Warren’s donors are much more likely to give to Sanders. Fifteen percent of her donors also gave to Sanders’ campaign, giving a total of $5.7 million.

Those numbers — impacted by the fact that Sanders has hundreds of thousands more individual donors than Warren and each of the other Democratic contenders — back up polling data that shows there is some crossover between Sanders and Warren supporters.

But a recent rift between the two progressives could change things. Sanders are Warren are increasingly taking shots at each other as the stakes get higher and the presidential candidate list gets shorter. The tension reached new heights during the Democratic debate on Tuesday when Sanders flatly denied Warren’s claim that he privately told her a woman could not win the presidential election.

“I think you called me a liar on national TV,” Warren told Sanders, refusing his handshake offer after the debate, according to audio obtained by CNN.

“Let’s not do it right now,” Sanders responded while wagging his hand. “You called me a liar.”

OpenSecrets’ donor data suggests that Warren donors are much more likely to donate to other 2020 Democrats than Sanders donors. Forty-seven percent of Warren’s donors gave to at least one other Democratic presidential candidate. Only 22 percent of Sanders’ donors — of which he has far more than his opponents — have given to another candidate, the lowest rate in the field.

Those numbers signal that Sanders donors — as well as those backing former Vice President Joe Biden — are strongly committed to their candidate. That divide could become more stark when fourth-quarter donor data is released on Jan. 31. Sanders’ campaign recently launched attacks on his other primary opponents, including Biden and former South Bend, Ind. Mayor Pete Buttigieg.

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The Sanders-Warren feud appeared to heat up when Sanders staffers reportedly instructed volunteers to tell voters that Warren’s appeal was limited to highly educated, wealthy individuals and was not bringing new people into the Democratic Party. One day later, Warren publicly said that Sanders told her a woman could not win the presidency.

OpenSecrets’ research indicates that Warren is popular among highly-educated donors such as scientists and psychotherapists, while Sanders’ by far outranks other candidates with working-class donors such as nurses and servers. Their significantly different bases of support may be the major divide between the two progressives who back similar policies.

The schism between Warren and Sanders has liberal leaders concerned about the division of Democratic voters during the primary and whether this will be enough to push undecided voters to more moderate candidates such as Biden or Buttigieg. Progressive groups called for unity Thursday to fight against “candidates supported by the corporate wing.”

Sanders and Warren are both running campaigns backed primarily by small donors — swearing off big-ticket fundraisers — while Biden and Buttigieg are relying more on big-dollar donors. More than 52 percent of Warren’s campaign funds come from small individual contributions. Close to 60 percent of Sanders’ money comes from bite-sized contributions.

Sanders is expected to build on his fundraising lead over Warren when candidates file their year-end fundraising reports. Sanders announced a $34.5 million fourth-quarter haul, while Warren’s fundraising self-reported fundraising dropped off to $21.2 million. Just how much financial trouble Warren is in will depend on how much money her campaign spent to reach that figure.

Meanwhile, Warren is also falling behind Sanders in the polls. Sanders ranked at the top of the pack for likely Democratic caucus goers in Iowa as their first choice for president. Trailing behind as their second choice is Warren, followed by Buttigieg, Biden, Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and businessman Andrew Yang. The poll was conducted by the Des Moines Register and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.7 percentage points.

Researcher Doug Weber contributed to this report.



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