Democratic
presidential candidate Barack Obama raised a staggering $32
million in January from an ever-increasing donor base, aides
said Thursday. Republican Mitt Romney dipped into his
personal fortune to give his presidential campaign $35
million in 2007, including $18 million in the last
three months of the year alone.
Obama's $1
million-a-day rate is the largest haul ever by a
presidential candidate during a competitive primary.
The outpouring of money will permit Obama to boost
staff and extend advertising to states beyond the
sweeping February 5 contests, aides said. In an e-mail to
supporters Thursday evening, Obama's campaign said it
had attracted 224,000 new donors in January for a
total of more than 700,000 overall.
Romney reported
raising $9 million in contributions and spending $33.8
million during the last three months of 2007. He did not
release any fund-raising numbers for January, when
seven Republican contests were held, but reported $2.4
million cash on hand going into a month in which he
spent heavily on advertising.
Campaign aides
said he was ready to embark on an aggressive strategy to
confront rival John McCain with television ads in California
and other February 5 states. The decision signaled
that Romney might be prepared to dip into his wealth
again.
Thursday was the
deadline for campaigns to file their end-of-year finance
reports with the Federal Election Commission, numbers that
were fairly dated given the hyperactive month of
January with its slew of early contests and heavy
spending.
Obama is now
advertising in 20 of the 22 states in play for next week's
Super Tuesday and plans to begin advertising in seven more
states with primaries or caucuses later in February.
Rival Hillary Rodham Clinton is advertising in 12
Super Tuesday states, including her home state of New
York.
Obama and Clinton
have been aggressive fund-raisers; each raised more
than $100 million last year.
Clinton's
end-of-year finance report showed she raised $26.5 million
in individual contributions during the last three
months of the year. She spent $39.2 million during the
period and had $37.9 million left as the year began.
Clinton reported an end-of-year debt of nearly $5 million.
Her total contributions for the year were $107 million,
including $19.5 million for the general election. She
spent $80.3 million in 2007.
Obama reported
raising $22.8 million from October through December. He
spent nearly $41 million during that period and ended the
year with $18.6 million in the bank. He had a $792,681
debt. His contributions for the year totaled $102
million, and he spent $84.5 million.
With John Edwards
out of the race, Clinton and Obama are in a fierce race
for delegates to secure the nomination. February 5 offers
the biggest single opportunity for delegates, but it
is impossible for either one to seal the nomination
that day.
''We think that
the strength of our financial position and the number of
donors does speak to financial sustainability if it ends up
going through March and April,'' Obama campaign
manager David Plouffe said of the race. ''We think we
will have the financial resources to conduct vigorous
campaigns in the states to come.''
While the Clinton
campaign has not released its January totals, Obama's
fund-raising for the month was expected to eclipse hers.
Obama aides indicated the $32 million figure could
grow once the month's fund-raising is totaled.
''Once people
start voting that's a more important measure of
performance,'' said Clinton spokesman Jay Carson. As for
money, ''That's one measure of a campaign.''
''It's one of the
most important markers in the period before actual
voters start voting. We're no longer in the invisible
primary, we're in the real primary.''
The Republican
contest features far less money.
Without his
personal $35 million, Romney raised $54 million in
contributions in 2007 and spent $87.6 million. The former
venture capitalist is worth up to $250 million.
McCain raised
$37.5 million for the year and spent $39.1 million. Boosted
to front-runner status after winning the Florida primary
this week, McCain raised $7 million during the first
three weeks of January. Advisers said his fund-raising
had surged since his Florida victory and since his
endorsement Wednesday by Rudy Giuliani as he exited the
race.
Giuliani, who
dropped out of the GOP race Wednesday, raised nearly $60
million last year, according to his end-of-year report. He
raised $14.2 million in the last quarter and had $12.8
million in the bank going into January. He reported a
debt of nearly $1.2 million.
Republican Mike
Huckabee, who had canceled his press plane last week in a
money-saving measure, resumed the flight this week. His
campaign also planned to place television ads in
Southern states in play February 5, including Alabama,
Georgia, and his home state of Arkansas. It also
planned to advertise in Missouri, Oklahoma, and Tennessee.
According to his
end-of-year FEC filing, Huckabee had his best quarter
during the last three months of 2007 as his campaign began
to gain traction, particularly in Iowa. He raised $6.6
million from October through December and had $1.9
million in the bank at year's end.
The former
Arkansas governor's victory in the Iowa caucuses January 3
did not translate into a wave of money. Since the
South Carolina primary on January 19, however, the
campaign has raised more than $3 million online and $1
million at fund-raisers.
Dark-horse
Republican Ron Paul had raised $4 million in January,
according to his website. He caused a sensation at the end
of last year with several major online fund-raising
days. He raised a total of $19.5 million during the
final three months of the year, a sharp increase from
the $5.2 million he raised during the previous quarter. (Jim
Kuhnhenn, AP)