Sen. Barack Obama announced on Sunday he had raised $32.5 million for his presidential campaign in the past three months, the biggest quarterly fund-raising for any Democrat ever in a pre-election year.
The Illinois senator said more than 154,000 donors had contributed to his campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination in the April-June period, bringing his total donor list to more than 258,000.
Obama and Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York led all Democrats in the first quarter of the year with the former first lady edging out Obama, $26 million to $25 million. Only Republican President George W. Bush has raised more in the year before a presidential election.
Clinton, who leads Obama in national opinion polls, had not immediately released her figures but her campaign last week said she expected to raise $27 million to $28 million in the second quarter.
Candidates for president must report their fund-raising activity every three months. The second quarter ended at midnight on Saturday.
Donors can give up to $2,300 to finance a candidate’s primary race and another $2,300 for the general election if the candidate gets the party nomination.
Obama said of his $32.5 million he raised this period, $31 million was for the primary race against Clinton and six other Democrats.
“We now have hundreds of thousands of Americans who are ready to demand health care for all, energy independence and an end to this war in Iraq,” Obama said in a statement. “That’s the kind of movement that can change the special interest-driven politics in Washington and transform our country.”
[Read More @: Reuters]