Obama Continues to Surpass Clinton in Fundraising
By Craig Gordon, Newsday, Melville, N.Y.
Apr. 4–WASHINGTON — When it comes to Democratic fundraising, anything she can do, he can do better.
Hillary Rodham Clinton notched her second-best fundraising month of the campaign in March — with a $20 million take that normally would have been considered impressive, especially for a candidate being urged by some to quit the race.
Of course, that was no match for Barack Obama’s seemingly unstoppable money machine — which doubled-up on Clinton at $40 million last month.
He’s also beating her nearly 2-to-1 in 2008 overall, with $131 million to $70 million for Clinton — dollars that will help Obama, once again, far outspend Clinton in upcoming primaries in Pennsylvania and beyond.
It was that kind of day yesterday for Clinton, who saw one of her top supporters in the New York area, New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine, say that he would consider switching to Obama if Clinton doesn’t win the popular vote.
Also, former President Jimmy Carter left little doubt that he is supporting Obama. “My children and their spouses are pro-Obama. My grandchildren are also pro-Obama,” he said while traveling in Nigeria. “As a superdelegate, I would not disclose who I am rooting for, but I leave you to make that guess.”
Beyond that, Clinton also continued to face questions about whether she was trying to strong-arm superdelegates by insisting there’s no way Obama can beat Republican John McCain in November.
She denied an ABC News report that she had told New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson that Obama can’t win. Richardson went on to endorse Obama.
“That’s a no,” Clinton said when asked if she made the comment to Richardson, who served in Bill Clinton’s administration. “I have consistently made the case that I can win, because I believe I can win, and you know, sometimes people draw the conclusion I’m saying somebody else can’t win. I can win. I know I can win.”
That followed a report this week that former President Bill Clinton had gone off on a red-faced tirade over Richardson’s endorsement at a California party meeting.
But it was the fundraising numbers that dominated the day — pushing Obama over $200 million total and providing clear evidence of the commanding financial advantage he brings into the decisive weeks of the contest.
Obama’s numbers also dwarf those of McCain, who has raised $60 million during his whole campaign through February. McCain didn’t report his March numbers, saying only that he did better than his $11 million haul in February.
Both Obama and Clinton fell short of their February totals — $55 million for Obama and nearly $35 million for Clinton. But that was the only down note in Obama’s results, which showed him attracting nearly 1.3 million donors to date.
Clinton is hitting the fundraising circuit to keep up, however, holding two events in Los Angeles yesterday and a New York City fundraiser on Wednesday. The campaign hopes that event, headlined by Elton John, will bring in $2 million.
Media tracking figures show Obama has purchased more than $2.7 million in TV ads in Pennsylvania, compared to $900,000 for Clinton. Not to be outdone, Clinton leapfrogged ahead to North Carolina to launch her first TV ad for the May 6 contest there.
It is a 60-second spot that urges viewers to submit questions to her campaign. “Just go to NCAskMe.com, and then I’ll be getting back to you here on TV to answer your questions and offer some solutions,” Clinton says in the ad.
March Fundraising
Hillary Clinton
$20 MILLION
Barack Obama
$40 MILLION
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