by Jeff Zeleny
WASHINGTON, July 1 — Senator Barack Obama of Illinois raised a total of $32.5 million from April through June, his campaign announced today, drawing 258,000 contributors since entering the Democratic presidential race nearly six months ago.
While money continued to be tabulated from a final burst of donations that arrived before the fund-raising period closed Saturday, the Obama campaign provided an early estimate of its figures, hoping to demonstrate its financial muscle and widespread support.
The campaign of Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York has said it would raise “in the range of $27 million.”
No other candidates, Democrat or Republican, have suggested they will surpass those tallies for the second quarter of the year.
“Together, we have built the largest grassroots campaign in history for this stage of a presidential race,” Mr. Obama said in a statement. “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.”
The Obama campaign said it had attracted 154,000 new contributors in the second quarter, with $31 million designated for the primary race. Over all, the campaign said it had raised at least $32.5 million during the second quarter, including at least $1.5 million that can be used in the general election campaign, should he win the nomination.
The second-quarter figure brings the amount of money the campaign has raised this year to nearly $56 million.
“That’s the kind of movement that can change the special interest-driven politics in Washington and transform our country,” Mr. Obama said. “And it’s just the beginning.”
While the second fund-raising period of the year ended Saturday, candidates have until July 15 to file reports with the Federal Election Commission, detailing how much money was raised and spent.
The campaign of John Edwards, the former North Carolina senator, said that it had raised more than $9 million, compared with $14 million raised in the first three months of the year.
“We now know this campaign will enter the next phase with the resources to compete,” Mr. Edwards’s campaign manager, David Bonior, wrote in an e-mail to donors late Saturday. “No matter what they throw at us, John Edwards’s message of substance will break through to voters in Iowa, New Hampshire and key states all over the country, and that’s all we need to win.”
Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico reported raising more than $7 million in the second quarter.
Original article posted here.
No comments:
Post a Comment