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Clinton's fund campaign rakes in record US$36m

US Senator Hillary Clinton has said her campaign has raised US$36 million, the highest amount of money in the first quarter for any presidential candidate ever.

Campaign officials said late on Sunday that Clinton had by far the most cash on hand to spend in both primary and general elections of any candidate in the 2008 presidential field.

"These numbers indicate the tremendous support for Senator Clinton from every walk of life and every part of America, and assure [sic] that we will have the resources needed to compete and win," Clinton campaign manager Patti Solis Doyle said in a statement.

In a report to be filed with the Federal Election Commission, the Clinton campaign said its total receipts in the first quarter had reached US$36 million.

Of that total, US$26 million had been raised in the 10 weeks between the campaign's launch in late January and March 31.

An additional US$10 million was transferred from the senator's reelection campaign of last year, the report said.

US$5 million had already been spent, bringing her total available cash to US$31 million.

The senator had US$24 million she could legally spend on the primary election campaign and US$6.9 million for the general election campaign.

The campaign of Senator Barack Obama, the top Clinton rival, underscored its success in raising US$25.8 million just for the primary campaign.

So far, Obama has spent US$6.6 million, about as much as Clinton, his aides said, leaving him with US$19.2 million in his war chest.

His team also boasted 104,000 contributors, compared with Clinton's 60,000.

Obama's campaign finance manager, Penny Pritzker, called the showing a "true testament to the desire for a different kind of politics in this country and a belief at the grassroots level that Barack Obama can bring out the best in America."

Former senator John Edwards, who is running third in the polls, had US$10.7 million in the bank, after spending US$3.3 million, his campaign officials said.

The disclosure reports appeared to cement the juggernaut status of Obama and Clinton, who are leading in the Democratic field.

Sunday's statements are seen as important barometers of the health of a campaign, in that they show not only how much money candidates have raised, but how much they have left to spend.

On the Republican side, the filings were also expected to confirm early reports that presidential hopeful John McCain is lagging far behind his Republican rivals in reaping in donations.
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