Just over 24 hours after Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) announced his candidacy earlier this month to become the next president of the United States, his campaign was already celebrating — at least on social media.

In a tweet, the campaign showed the digital flip scoreboard that dominates his campaign website tipping over $1 million. “INCREDIBLE,” the tweet reads, pointing out that all of the donations were made online. That is nearly $700 a minute in that first 24 hours. A week later, the Paul campaign had raised another million, according to the website — a disclosure that isn’t required by any law, and one that won’t be verifiable until July. By Monday afternoon, the counter had been replaced by looping videos — but what was the point of it in the first place?

“This is the old telethon technique translated to the web. ‘Let’s get to $3,000,000 before 10 p.m!,'” said Michael Cornfield, a professor of campaign strategy and messaging at George Washington University. “The only thing missing is the drum roll.”

Cornfield said that the first time he recalls a candidate using an online ticker was in 2000, when Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) added one to his website to capitalize on a 20-point primary upset in New Hampshire over the eventual nominee, George W. Bush.

In the early days of the campaign, the ability to raise lots of money can be seen as a qualifier — and an especially important one considering that the 2012 Republican primary winner, Mitt Romney spent $76.6 million on that primary contest, and the likely 2016 Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton, and her supporters are expected to spend somewhere around $2.5 billion, by some estimates.

While the $2.2 million that Paul’s website had reported by Friday afternoon could be only part of his total fundraising picture so far — he has held at least two fundraisers since announcing his bid for the White House, one of which asked for donations ranging from $1,000 to $5,000 — the strategy imitates a fundraising tactic used by his father, former Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas), in his presidential campaigns: the money bomb. The idea is to raise a massive amount of money in a 24-hour period, building excitement as you go.

“He would provide it to both show and generate momentum,” said Candice Nelson, the Department of Government chair at American University.

The elder Paul saw a bit more success with the money bomb technique, though. In late 2007, he raised $6 million in one day. That could still be good news for Sen. Paul, who is often lumped together with his libertarian father in terms of policy positions: Ron Paul raised $41 million for his 2012 presidential run almost exclusively through small ($200 and under) donors.

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But Paul might be expected to rope in some particularly wealthy big donors as well. As OpenSecrets reported in February, Sen. Paul’s committees secured $7,600 from the founder of Napster and early Facebook executive Sean Parker in what was seen as an indication that wealthy tech donors could be interested. Silicon Valley donors could provide a valuable push for Paul, who receives much less money from Wall Street than, say, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.). Silicon Valley donors have been a growing source campaign money, a trend that is continuing

But he will still have to contend with the other candidates jostling to secure donors big and small. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), the first major candidate to announce his White House bid, raised $4.3 million dollars in the first eight days of his campaign — and a fair amount of that came from small donors, showing that Paul isn’t the only candidate who can rally grassroots support. Rubio reportedly raised $1.25 million online in the first 24 hours after he announced his campaign.

On the flip side of the equation: Last month, a likely Republican primary opponent of Paul’s, former Florida governor Jeb Bush, asked donors to his super PAC to limit checks to $1 million.



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