Obama Raises $19 Million in Quarter
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Democrat Barack Obama raised more than $19 million this summer for the presidential primaries, holding his lead in the race for campaign cash.
Fred Thompson, the GOP newcomer, has raised more than $11.5 million so far, Republicans familiar with his fundraising said Monday.
Obama's Democratic rival John Edwards reported raising $7 million during the July-September quarter for a total of $30 million for the year. Aides said he would show $12 million cash on hand and was on track to meet his goal of raising $40 million by the time the first presidential contests begin in January.
Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, whose fundraising has nearly kept pace with Obama's, had not released her third-quarter figures Monday. The quarter ended Sunday night.
Thompson's total includes $3.5 million he raised in June, before the third-quarter fundraising period began. Since formally entering the race during the first week of September, Thompson has raised roughly $200,000 a day.
Obama also received general election contributions during the quarter, making his overall fundraising for the period more than $20 million. That brings his total for the year to nearly $80 million _ nearly $75 million for the primaries and about $4 million for the general election.
New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson announced Sunday that he had raised $5.2 million in the quarter, bringing his total for the year to $18.4 million. Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware is expected to show nearly $2 million in new third-quarter contributions, $6.4 million for the year. And Sen. Christopher Dodd of Connecticut raised $1.5 million in the quarter and will show $4 million in the bank, his campaign said.
Only Edwards and Dodd released cash-on-hand figures. How much the campaigns have in the bank is an important figure at this stage because it shows how well-positioned they are for the intense spending on television advertising and voter outreach that lies ahead.
The third quarter is traditionally a difficult fundraising period, and the candidates raised less in the past three months than they had in each of the first and second quarters. Obama, for instance, raised a high of $33 million in the second quarter and Edwards' best was $14 million in the first.
Last week, Edwards announced he would accept public financing of his campaign during the primaries, a move that would give him an infusion of several million dollars but also would limit his spending to about $50 million during the entire primary season.
Obama's summer total included donations from 93,000 new contributors, aides said. Overall, he has received contributions from 352,000 donors so far this year. Contributors are limited to a maximum of $2,300 each. Edwards' advisers said his campaign had attracted more than 150,000 donors since the beginning of the year.
In the four months that Thompson has been raising money, he will have raised less than his main rivals _ John McCain, Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney _ each raised in the first quarter. Romney raised $6.5 million in one event alone, a "National Call Day," at the outset of his campaign.
But Thompson has attracted far more individual donors than each of the other three did during their first quarters.