Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders Bernie SandersButtigieg stands in as Pence for Harris's debate practice Bernie Sanders warns of 'nightmare scenario' if Trump refuses election results Harris joins women's voter mobilization event also featuring Pelosi, Gloria Steinem, Jane Fonda MORE is touting 1 million online donations to his campaign hours ahead of the third-quarter fundraising deadline.

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The Vermont Independent's campaign has grown in intensity since launching at the end of May. His supporters tout the 1 million mark as an achievement that happened quicker than in President Obama's 2008 and 2012 bids.

His fundraising total for the quarter and other details about the money haul were not released. But the candidate had been pushing to break the small-donor threshold throughout the week to highlight the "unprecedented public demonstration of support for the values we share."

Multiple other candidates were pushing inventive donation pleas as well as the deadline neared.

Political campaigns have increasingly relied on the Internet in the years since Obama's first campaign. Reports from the time indicate that Obama hit the 1 million mark in late February 2008. Those numbers included all donations, online and otherwise, and came nearly five months later in the cycle.

Sanders was outmatched in the fundraising race in the last quarter by many candidates, including Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham ClintonButtigieg stands in as Pence for Harris's debate practice Senate GOP sees early Supreme Court vote as political booster shot Poll: 51 percent of voters want to abolish the electoral college MORE. He brought in about $15 million at that time compared to Clinton's $47 million. But his campaign has touted the large number of small-dollar donations as a sign of his popularity.

Clinton maintains a solid lead over Sanders in national polls, but he has increasingly closed the gap. He has also surpassed Clinton in New Hampshire polling and runs close to Clinton in the early caucus state of Iowa.