PrintApril 2, 2007
Obama, not Hillary, won the 1st quarter fundraising derby
The headlines may proclaim that Hillary Clinton set a record for fund-raising in the first quarter of the year, and that she out-raised Obama. The New York Times, for instance, said,
"Clinton Campaign Shows Fund-Raising Edge"
But go beneath the raw data and a different victor emerges.
Obama is the winner of fund raising first quarter race. He raised over 20 million, Hillary raised 26. But much of her money was in $4600 slices: 2300 for the primary election, 2300 for general election. Since she already announced that she will not take federal money for general election, she was free to collect money for both.
Obama has not decided yet whether to forgo public financing for the general election, so virtually all of his money is just for the primary, and he is limited to $2300 per donor.
Most analysts thought Hillary would raise 30-35 million and Obama 15-20 million. According to Drudge, Hillary found it necessary to transfer $10 million from her Senatorial Campaign Committee in order to pump up her total to $36 million.
Clearly, Obama has had an extraordinary rise and Hillary is worried.
Clearly, Obama has had an extraordinary rise and Hillary is worried.
