Obama raised whopping $40M

HARRISBURG, Pa. — Sen. Barack Obama raised more than $40 million for his quest to be the Democratic presidential nominee in March, and the campaign now boasts a record of nearly 1.3 million donors.

The campaign announced the month’s total came from more than 442,000 donors who made an average contribution of $96. Of the March donors, more than 218,000 were first-time contributors.

The numbers will cheer Obama supporters who have argued he is a strong general-election candidate based on his fundraising prowess. The small average donation is also good news for the campaign, as Mr. Obama can continue to seek money from those who have not given the $2,300 maximum contribution.

“Senator Obama has always said that this campaign would rise or fall on the willingness of the American people to become partners in an effort to change our politics and start a new chapter in our history,” said campaign manager David Plouffe in a statement. “Today we’re seeing the American people’s extraordinary desire to change Washington, as tens of thousands of new contributors joined the more than a million Americans who have already taken ownership of this campaign for change. Many of our contributors are volunteering for the campaign, making our campaign the largest grassroots army in recent political history.”

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton’s spokesman Howard Wolfson told reporters on a conference call this morning the March totals will be reported later this month the day of the filing deadline.

Mr. Wolfson said his boss will have the “resources to compete” against Mr. Obama, who currently is outspending her 4-to-1 in Pennsylvania and who spent more than his rival in Texas and Ohio.

“We knew that he was going to outraise us,” Mr. Wolfson said, adding the Clinton figure is a “significant amount of money.”

He noted both campaigns are “outraising John McCain,” the presumptive Republican nominee.