Clinton trails Obama in first-quarter collections

USA TODAY (2007-04-16)
By Fredreka Schouten
New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton banked more than $24 million to fight for the Democratic presidential nomination, about $6 million more than Illinois Sen. Barack Obama. However, the freshman senator outraised her in the first three months of the year for the primary fight: $24.8 million to Clinton's $19.1 million, according to campaign-finance reports filed Sunday with the Federal Election Commission. The former first lady has more in the bank in part because her total includes $10 million transferred from her Senate campaign.
Obama also raised $1 million for the general election if he becomes the Democratic nominee, and his donations come from 104,000 contributors.
Overall, Clinton raised $26 million from Jan. 1 through March 31 for the primary and general elections from 60,000 donors.
"Hillary's air of inevitability has been breached by the strength of Obama's numbers," said lawyer Kenneth Gross, a campaign-finance expert.
Former North Carolina senator John Edwards raised $13 million for the primaries and has $9.8 million in the bank, according to his FEC report.
The first-quarter reports are the public's first glance at who is giving to candidates, which states provide them with the most donors and how they are spending their money. Next year's presidential contest — the first since 1928 in which no sitting president or vice president is seeking his party's nomination — could set records and top $1 billion in fundraising, according to former FEC chairman Michael Toner.
Clinton, Obama and Edwards combined have not only outraised their top Republican counterparts — Mitt Romney, Rudy Giuliani and John McCain — they have also put away more money in the bank. Still, campaign-finance experts say it's too soon to tell whether the monetary support will translate to votes next year.
Clyde Wilcox, a government professor at Georgetown University in Washington, said there's a danger in reading too much into early fundraising numbers. "We don't even vote for a year."
Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, has the most in the bank for the Republican primary fight: $11.8 million. Giuliani, who leads most national polls for the Republican nomination, has $10.8 million for next year's primaries, according to the report he filed Friday.
By contrast, Arizona Sen. John McCain spent nearly two-thirds of his first-quarter money, leaving him with only $5.2 million so far for next year's primaries and caucuses. He also has $1.8 million in debt.
On Sunday, Clinton touted having more cash available than any other White House contender. "These numbers indicate the tremendous support for Sen. Clinton from every walk of life and every part of America and assure us that we will have the resources needed to compete and win," campaign manager Patti Solis Doyle said.
Obama's camp also claimed wide support. "The final tally is true testament to the desire for a different kind of politics in the country, and a belief at the grass-roots level that Barack Obama can bring out the best in America to solve our problems," finance chairwoman Penny Pritzker said.
Among other Democrats, Bill Richardson raised $6.2 million with $5 million available for the primaries. Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Del., has $2.8 million banked. Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., has $7.5 million, including $4.7 million from his Senate campaign.
Among other Republicans, FEC reports show Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback has $807,000 in the bank. Texas representative Ron Paul has nearly $525,000 in cash.