Sen. Barack Obama said Wednesday he raised $25 million for his presidential campaign in the first quarter, proving himself a serious threat to Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, who raised $26 million.
“Hillary can go ahead and cancel the coronation,” said Larry Sabato, Director of the University of Virginia Center for Politics. “Obama’s numbers were truly spectacular.”
“Here’s someone without a national base and who has been in the race for a couple of months without much pre-planning,” he said. “The Clintons have had a national base for 30 years, and she’s been all but running for president for six.”
Obama said at least $23.5 million of his total was raised for the primary campaign, with the remainder for the general election campaign. That means he might have raised more primary dollars than rival Democrat Clinton, who has refused to say how much of her $26 million is for the primary.
Furthermore, Obama had 100,000 contributors, which is twice as many as Clinton.
“This overwhelming response, in only a few short weeks, shows the hunger for a different kind of politics in this country and a belief at the grassroots level that Barack Obama can bring out the best in America to solve our problems,” Obama finance chairwoman Penny Pritzker said.
Clinton’s campaign declined to comment on Obama’s fundraising prowess.
The only other presidential candidate in the same league as Obama and Clinton, at least when it comes to fundraising, is Republican Mitt Romney, who brought in $23 million during the first three months of this year.
Romney’s main GOP rivals, Rudy Giuliani and John McCain, raised $15 million and $12.5 million respectively. Democrat John Edwards raised $14 million.
That means the top three Democratic candidates collectively raised $65 million, compared with $50.5 million for the top three Republicans.
“The fundraising take for the GOP candidates is so far below the Democratic total that I think the relative totals reflect just how depressed the Republican base is about current conditions and their 2008 prospects,” Sabato said.
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