Clinton May Erase Obama's Fund-Raising Edge in Third Quarter
By Jonathan Salant and Kristin Jensen
Sept. 26 (Bloomberg) -- Hillary Clinton may blunt one of rival Barack Obama's few advantages in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination: money.
As the campaigns press donors with predictions that their candidate is losing the fund-raising race, both Clinton and Obama are set to report about $20 million in donations during the third quarter, which ends Sept. 30, according to campaign officials and fund-raisers.
A failure to out-raise Clinton would deprive Obama of the momentum he needs to overcome his rival's significant leads in national and key state polls. Obama raised $33 million to her $27 million in the second quarter and ended up with more cash on hand for the primary elections. His campaign had aimed to be able to outspend her significantly in the last part of 2007 and early next year.
``The Clinton juggernaut is moving if she out-raises him this quarter,'' said Peter Fenn, a Democratic consultant who isn't affiliated with any candidate this year. ``It makes the argument for her winnability an easier one.''
A comparatively strong haul for Clinton would allow her to minimize Obama's argument that his larger list of donors reflects a broader appeal to voters. Obama's Web site says he has more than 340,000 contributors. Clinton said she had more than 100,000 in a Sept. 23 interview on NBC. She wouldn't comment further at a news conference the next day.
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http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=aIF6FJQi_dvU&refer=us***
Obama leads in fundraising again
BY GLENN THRUSH
The torrid fundraising pace set by Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton is cooling faster than the housing market, with both camps claiming to raise millions less over the last three months than in previous quarters.
Obama is expected to pull in between $18 million and $19 million during the July-September reporting period, according to spokeswoman Jen Psaki -- $14 million to $15 million less than his $33 million second-quarter haul. Another Obama supporter, speaking on condition of anonymity, predicted that number could be somewhat higher, "in the low 20s."
Clinton will take in between $17 million and $19 million over the last three months, according to a person familiar with her fundraising.
"People are getting tapped out," said one Clinton donor.
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The pace of fundraising has slackened since the second quarter, when the campaigns raised $25 million to $30 million. But Obama and Clinton will have more than enough on hand, close to $100 million collectively, to bombard primary voters in battlegrounds with broadcast ads.
http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/ny-uscamp0926,0,7571429,print.story