As long as presidential campaigns use first day fundraising numbers as indicators of strength, it's important to take a close look at their released figures. FEC reports shine a light on this data eventually, but until then, campaigns very carefully release selective facts. Our latest obscured numbers come from the #biden2020 campaign. In the escalating arms race of first day fundraising, the campaign proudly touted their $6.3M haul. Their number of individual donors, however, falls well short of other candidates'.

News media has made countless headlines out of first day fundraising totals for 2020 Democratic presidential candidates... but is that the full story? If the strength of a campaign is measured strictly in dollar signs, then we're ignoring the support of people. A full presentation of these figures should look something like this. Looking at money alone only perpetuates the power of big donors and money in politics.