Clinton, Edwards break fund records

Both surpassed first-quarter fund-raising totals of past elections: $26 million went to her; he took in $14 million.

By Jim Kuhnhenn
Associated Press
MANNIE GARCIA / AFP, Getty Images
Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton set a high bar for fund-raising. John Edwards' total was higher than in previous races at this point, but dwarfed by Clinton's.
WASHINGTON - Two Democratic presidential candidates broke previous fund-raising records during the first three months of the year, with Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton setting a high bar of $26 million in new contributions for the quarter.

Former Sen. John Edwards raised more than $14 million since the beginning of the year. Clinton also transferred $10 million from her Senate campaign account, bringing her total receipts for the quarter to $36 million.

Unlike Edwards, Clinton aides would not say how much of her total was available only for the primary and how much could be used just in the general election, if she were the party's nominee. By not breaking down the amount available for the primaries, the Clinton camp made it impossible to assess how much of an edge she actually has over Edwards.

Edwards' aides said about $1 million of his $14 million in contributions could only be used in the general election, should he win the nomination.

Neither Clinton nor Edwards disclosed how much they spent in the quarter or how much cash they had in hand - numbers that also give clues to their campaigns' relative strengths.

Still, the total raised by each candidate outdistanced past presidential election records and set a new bar by which to measure fund-raising abilities.

Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois, sandwiched in public opinion polls between Clinton and Edwards, had yet to disclose his totals.

New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson's campaign said he had raised $6 million in primary campaign money and had more than $5 million cash in hand at the end of the quarter.

Aides to Sen. Chris Dodd (D., Conn.) said he raised more than $4 million in the quarter, transferred nearly $5 million from his Senate campaign account and had $7.5 million cash on hand.

Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. (D., Del.) said on Fox News Sunday that he had raised about $3 million in the quarter. Biden also had about $3.6 million in his Senate campaign account that he could transfer to a presidential run.

The rest of the Democratic field planned to announce their first-quarter totals over the next few days. No Republican presidential candidates released fund-raising totals yesterday.

 

 
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