Presidential candidates Pete Buttigieg and Bernie Sanders each made fundraising swings through Los Angeles on Thursday, with each courting Hollywood donors at very different events.
Buttigieg raised about $1 million at four different fundraisers, per a source. The highest profile one was co-hosted by Ellen DeGeneres, Sean Hayes, Jason Bateman and Chelsea Handler, and was held at the home of top NBCUniversal executive Kevin MacLellan and writer Brian Curran.
Ben Platt, the Broadway star and lead of Ryan Murphy's upcoming Netflix series "The Politician," performed "Somewhere" from "West Side Story" as Buttigieg and his husband Chasten looked on.
Among those at the event were Hayes, producer Michael Lombardo and executive Rich Ross. Tickets started at $250 per person, but sold out at all levels up to $2,800.
Sanders raised money at an event at the Montalban Theatre in Hollywood, where he tried to contrast the way that he has been raising money during the campaign with that of other candidates, although he did not mention them by name. "To me an $18 check or a $27 dollar check from a working person is worth more than all the money in the world from millionaires," he said.
Mensa performed "16 Shots," which was inspired by the 2014 shooting of Laquan McDonald by a Chicago police officer.
Photo: Buttigieg speaks at a fundraiser in Hancock Park at the home of Mike Rose and Ruben Rodriguez.
