Washington – Hillary Rod ham Clinton banked a daunting $24 million for the Democratic presidential campaign at the end of the first quarter even as rival Barack Obama outraised her in a display of fundraising prowess.
Clinton, the senator from New York, raised $19 million for the primary election, trailing Oba ma, who collected $24.8 million in donations for the primary.
Obama reported $18.2 million in cash on hand for the primary, keeping him at Clinton’s heels as the presidential campaign enters a more intense second quarter.
The deadline for filing finance reports with the Federal Election Commission was midnight Sunday. Most Republicans filed their reports Friday and Saturday. Democrats waited until Sunday.
The first-quarter financial reports established Clinton and Obama as the undisputed money leaders of the Democratic field, a significant but not determining factor in politics. The reports also show that as a group, Democratic presidential candidates outraised Republicans by a ratio of eight to five.
John Edwards, the Democrats’ vice-presidential nominee in 2004, established himself as a likely alternative to Clinton and Obama by raising $13 million for the primary and reporting $9.8 million in the bank at the end of the quarter.
Clinton was able to boost her cash on hand with a $10 million transfer from her Senate campaign account, money left over from her easy victory last year.
She and Obama spent similar amounts during the quarter and were thriftier than Republicans Mitt Romney and John McCain, the two biggests spenders in the presidential contest so far.
Clinton reported operating expenses of $5 million and a debt of $1.6 million. Obama spent $6.6 million and had $190,000 in debts.
Many candidates are considering bypassing public money in the general election and are raising money for that cycle as well.
On that front, Clinton leads the way, raising $6.9 million, a sum that must be kept separate and can’t be touched unless she wins her party’s nomination. Obama and Edwards each raised $1 million for the general election.
Among other Democrats, Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., reported $6.4 million in cash on hand for the primary election. That money includes a transfer from his Senate campaign account of nearly $5 million.
Meanwhile, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson reported raising $6.25 million and had $5 million in cash on hand.
