The Mighty Fundraising Machine of Bernie Sanders Stalled in April

Senator Bernie Sanders' presidential campaign raised $25.8 million in April — a steep drop from the huge $43.5 million and $44 million that he raked in during February and March.

News of the decline in donations comes at a bad time for the Vermont senator, whose poor showing recently in New York and other northeastern states prompted GOP frontrunner Donald Trump to bluntly tell an audience in Indianapolis: "Bernie is gone. You know that, don't you?"

Just one day after the Vermont senator lost four out of five primary states to Hillary Clinton last week, the Sanders campaign announced plans to lay off hundreds of campaign staffers immediately. The cuts were reportedly part of a shifting campaign strategy, turning its focus to acquiring support from delegates ahead of the California primary — the most delegate-rich state in the country. California's primary is scheduled for June 7 and carries 546 delegates.

The Sanders camp was worried about a slip in donations as early as April 8 — and that was after the presidential hopeful had been on a major winning streak. At the time, Jeff Weaver, Sanders' campaign manager sent out a letter acknowledging the drop and urged supporters to dig into their pockets. "Here's the truth," Weaver wrote. "We've been winning states — six of the last seven — but our fundraising is slowing down a bit this month."

But while April's numbers don't look great compared to the previous two months, February and March's numbers were staggering relative to other months. In March, Sanders raised more than twice as much as the Hillary Clinton campaign. And Sanders' April figures still surpasses the $21 million that Clinton pulled in during March.

"A key to Sanders' fundraising success has been that his grassroots supporters consistently have contributed more to his campaign than Hillary Clinton's big-dollar donors," the Sanders campaign said on Sunday.

Clinton has not yet released her April fundraising numbers.

At the start of the month, the former secretary of state reportedly had $29 million in the bank, according to Associated Press, compared to Sanders' $17 million.

The press release sent out on Sunday points out that April's fundraising figures also surpassed the campaign's average monthly total of $17 million. His campaign raised $33.6 million in the last three months of 2015 — so just $11 million per month.

When the Sanders campaign drew $20 million in donations in January, The Washington Post described his haul as "astonishing" and "jaw-dropping," noting that the achievement "underscores the power of its online fundraising operation."

Sanders' campaign added that April's figures meant that it had received 7.4 million total contributions from 2.4 million individual donors — amounting to $210 million in total — and that just three percent of the total amount raised came from donors who had given the maximum $2,700 that an individual can donate to a political candidate.

"What our campaign is doing is bringing millions of Americans into the political process," said Weaver. "Sanders is the candidate with the most energy and excitement."

However, Sanders is reportedly beginning to acknowledge his rapidly dwindling chances at gaining the nomination.

Stu Loeser, a media strategist told The New York Times, "Now it looks like he's finally looked down, realized there is no ground underneath him, and is starting his descent."

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