Mayor Pete Buttigieg attends fundraisers in the Bay Area

Mayor Pete Buttigieg spent Monday at three fundraisers in the Bay Area.  The Democratic candidate for president made stops in Palo Alto, Woodside and San Francisco.  

An invite from the Palo Alto event shows guests paid $500-$2800 a ticket. "I think some of the other candidates are a little too far to the left, so from our perspective, we think he's terrific," said Peggy Burke, a supporter attending the fundraiser.

Senator Elizabeth Warren has criticized Buttigieg's fundraising efforts, specifically his ties to wealthy donors-- taking a shot at an event last week, without naming him. "We know that another calls the people who raise a quarter of a million dollars for him his, quote, 'National Investors' Circle," said Senator Warren.

Vox reports some of Silicon Valley's tech elite were on the Palo Alto guest list.  In the last few days, Mayor Pete released his major contributor list and opened fundraising events to a pool reporter. In response to Senator Warren's comments, his campaign released this statement: "We are proud to have the support of more than 700,000 grassroots donors across the country who are helping power this campaign. The only thing people are promised at an event with Pete is that he will use that money to beat Donald Trump."

Longtime Democratic consultant Ed Emerson says it's up to voters to decide the impact of where the money comes from. "Money, it's the mother's milk of politics, as the great Jesse Unruh once said," said Emerson. "You have to have it, and sometimes where you get it, it's not going to make everyone happy." 

For Lisa Solomon, seeing Mayor Pete was simply about teaching her daughter to be part of the democratic process. "I think it is an extraordinary opportunity for my daughter to hear a candidate first hand."