Bernie Sanders Seeks to Raise $40 Million Before the Super Tuesday Showdown, But Will It Matter?

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Monday marks the final FEC fundraising deadline before Super Tuesday, where 11 states will vote in the Democratic primary. Bernie Sanders, who has raised an astounding $36 million in February alone, is looking to break $40 million by EOD. Sanders' impressive fundraising engine is powered, not by super PACs, but rather, millions of small donors whose average contributions are $27-a-piece.

Fundraising is one measure of a candidate's success, but turning out voters is another one entirely. Tomorrow presents a major challenge for Senator Sanders. With over 1,000 pledged delegates at stake, Sanders will need to recapture the momentum that he carried in New Hampshire and fend off Hillary Clinton, who won the last two states.

According to most polls, the odds are stacked against Sanders in 7 out of 11 of the Super Tuesday states: Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia. However, the Senator looks to secure a guaranteed victory in his home state of Vermont and hopes to take Massachusetts, Colorado and Minnesota, where he has relatively favorable odds among a more liberal electorate.