Sen. Hillary Clinton gathered more than $6 million in a fundraising push following an indecisive Super Tuesday contest for the Democratic presidential nomination, but still trailed Sen. Barack Obama in the three-day race for campaign cash.
The donations were a much-needed show of fundraising ability for Clinton after she drew less than half of the $32 million Obama raised in January and loaned her campaign $5 million of her own money before Tuesday’s two dozen primaries. Both events had raised questions about the vitality of her donor base.
Since Tuesday, Obama raised $7.2 million to Clinton’s $6.4 million. The New York senator spoke before a crowd of students and supporters Thursday afternoon at Washington-Lee High School in Arlington, her first speech since Republican contender Mitt Romney announced his withdrawal from the race several hours earlier.
While Clinton aides said Romney’s departure did not affect the campaign, it was clear in Clinton’s speech that she was targeting the likely GOP nominee, Sen. John McCain, with greater intensity. While professing the “greatest respect” for the Arizona senator, she said he offers “more of the same economic policies, and more of the same military policies in Iraq.”
Like Clinton, Obama, in a speech at Tulane University Thursday, argued he would be a stronger candidate with a better chance in a match against McCain.
Clinton spoke little of her campaign strategy or the intensifying money race as both Democratic candidates approached primaries in Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia Tuesday.
“Our supporters are digging deep and helping us out,” said Clinton spokesman Mo Elleithee, who said the campaign doubled its original goal of $3 million in three days.
Despite her recent success, Clinton could see financial troubles because many of her donors have maxed out under campaign finance law, said University of Virginia political professor Larry Sabato.
“A large majority of Obama’s are small donors,” he said. “They can just keep giving, and they have been.”
The need for money is ever more insatiable, Sabato said, since it’s become clear that Super Tuesday resulted in a tie between the two Democratic contenders.
Where’s Bill?
The former president was in Maine Thursday, whooping it up with his wife’s supporters at the Portland Exposition Building. Maine Democrats will hold their caucus on Sunday to decide how to distribute their 34 delegates – three fewer than the District of Columbia. Clinton was originally scheduled to be in Seattle Wednesday, but his wife’s campaign announced a last-minute switch, saying the candidate herself would there. Maine, though, is significant because Hillary Clinton is hoping Maine will hand her at least one victory this weekend since pollsters predict that Barack Obama will prevail when Democrats in Louisiana, Nebraska and Washington dole out their delegates on Saturday.
