WASHINGTON – Hillary Rodham
Clinton defied the usual slow flow
of summer money, tapping 100,000
new donors and outpacing all other
presidential candidates in the chase
for campaign cash over the past three
months.
The New York senator raised $27
million in the quarter – $22 million
for the primaries and $5 million for
the general election – while other
candidates fell victim to the traditional
third-quarter dip in fundraising.
For the first time, Clinton reported
attracting more new donors in a quarter
than her chief fundraising rival, Illinois
Sen. Barack Obama. And, for the first
time, she raised more primary election
money than he did.
Both candidates have now raised
about $80 million each since the beginning
of the year, Tuesday’s updated
figures showed.
Obama still has the most donors
at 352,000 and leads Clinton in
primary money. He has raised nearly
$75 million toward the nominating
contests to her $62.6 million – a figure
that does not include the $10 million
she transferred from her 2006 Senate
campaign.
The cash-on-hand figure will be
a key measure of strength as the
campaigns head into one of the most
expensive stretches. Neither Clinton
nor Obama reported how much money
they had left in the bank.
With their third-quarter numbers,
Obama and Clinton have helped
push the Democratic field into record
fundraising territory for a presidential
campaign.