US Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Rodham Clinton raised US$55 million in the final quarter of last year, her campaign said on Friday.
The latest haul for Clinton, 68, brings her fundraising total for last year to US$112 million and gives her one of the best-funded campaign treasuries in the race for next year’s November presidential election.
“At the beginning of this campaign, Hillary Clinton set a goal of US$100 million in primary contributions for 2015 and blew past that goal, raising more than US$112 million in primary money for the year,” her campaign said in a statement.
It said she had raised US$37 million for the primary campaign, the most for any non-incumbent in a non-election year, and US$18 million for the Democratic Party in the fourth quarter.
Clinton has prided herself on raising funds from women and donors of small amounts. In the most recent quarter, 94 percent of donations received were US$100 or less, her campaign said.
The most recent filing comes just weeks before the first-in-the-nation ballots are to be cast in the Democratic nominating contest and Clinton’s latest grab provides a much-needed cushion of support as she battles for support in key early voter states.
Clinton, who has led the Democratic pack with little interruption since her announcement of candidacy in April, spent the summer months battling accusations of inappropriate use of a personal e-mail server while serving as US secretary of state, throwing an unexpected wrench in what was initially seen as a clear path to the nomination.
However following a marathon, 11-hour hearing on the national security ramifications of her personal server use, Clinton emerged from the scandal relatively unscathed, and her campaign reported their most lucrative fundraising hour in the hour following the hearing.
According to a Reuters/Ipsos survey that ended on Thursday last week, Clinton leads the Democratic pack with 60 percent of possible support in the nominating contest. Democratic presidential hopefuls Senator Bernie Sanders received 28 percent support while former Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley finished third with less than 4 percent possible support.
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