Story highlights Bernie Sanders' campaign announced Friday that it had raised $44 million in March

The campaign's previous fundraising record was in February

Milwaukee, Wisconsin (CNN) Bernie Sanders' campaign announced Friday that it had raised $44 million in March, a new high for the Vermont senator's White House bid.

The campaign's previous fundraising record was in February, when it raised $43.5 million. The campaign has received more than 6.5 million contributions from 2 million individual donors.

The March numbers come as a bit of a surprise after the roller-coaster month the senator had in the primary elections. Though he pulled off a coup in Michigan when he edged out Hillary Clinton, he suffered a string of losses in Illinois, Missouri, Ohio, and Arizona, all states the senator hoped to win.

The campaign pointed to a strong finish last Saturday in Washington, Hawaii, and Alaska that also helped bump its fundraising totals before the month ended.

Sanders, who relies almost exclusively on small donations to finance his campaign, boasts of his grassroots fundraising machine during his rallies.

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