New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker’s campaign on Monday said the Democrat raised more than $4.5 million between April and June for his presidential bid – a number that puts him behind the fundraising leaders in the Democratic field.

Booker’s second-quarter haul represents a dip from the $5 million he raised during the first three months of the year.

Booker started July with nearly $5.4 million remaining in the bank and has hired 19 staffers in two crucial primary states, Nevada and South Carolina, his campaign said. The senator long has had a substantial presence in Iowa, which kicks off the primary contests next February.

In its news release, his campaign touted the number of new contributors Booker added to his campaign, saying 72,000 had joined his donor ranks during the second quarter of the year.

Attracting thousands of unique donors from around the country is among the criteria – along with polling – for candidates to qualify for the debate stage. Booker’s campaign said he’s closing in on the 130,000 donor-threshold established for the Democratic Party’s debate in September. His aides say he already has qualified for the debate stage via polling criteria.

“In February, we set out to build a grassroots campaign fueled by small donations,” Addisu Demissie, Booker’s campaign manager, said in a statement.“We're proud of the tremendous progress we've made towards that goal and are happy that we have the resources we need to continue investing in our growing organizing effort.”