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Obama's $51m and counting...
21/04/2008 12:02 - (SA)
Washington - Barack Obama raised $41m in March and had $42m available to spend against Democratic rival Hillary Rodham Clinton in April, campaign finance reports filed on Sunday show.
Overall, Obama had $51m in the bank at the end of March, with nearly nine million dollars of that available only for the general election.
The money positioned Obama to undertake an expensive April campaign in Pennsylvania, where he has outspent Clinton and cut into her lead. Pennsylvania votes on Tuesday.
Obama's fundraising in March led all candidates, but was still lower than the mark he set in February, when he raised more than $55m. He has raised $235m in his campaign.
Aides say Clinton raised about $20m in March, but she had not filed her report with the Federal Election Commission as the midnight deadline approached.
Republican John McCain's report showed he raised $15.2m and had $11.6m in the bank. The Arizona senator's March figures were his best fundraising performance of the campaign.
Obama spent $30.6m in March - a month that began with tough contests for the Illinois senator in Ohio and Texas. He lost the popular vote to Clinton in both state primaries even though he outspent her, but he emerged with more delegates in Texas.
Building up his cash
His report showed he spent nine million dollars on media advertising, an amount mostly spent in final days before the March 4 Ohio and Texas primaries. Obama did spend money in March for ads in Pennsylvania and Indiana, which votes on May 6. But he held off on most of his big ad spending until April, permitting him to build up his cash on hand.
Obama reported owing more than $660 000 to various vendors. Beside advertising, his other major expenses were nearly five million dollars in telemarketing and $3.6m for travel and lodging.
In keeping with his trend, California was Obama's go-to fundraising state, generating nearly $4.6m in contributions in March. New York was next with nearly $3.2m.
McCain in March refunded donors about three million dollars in contributions, most of it money he had received for the general election. The refunds set the stage for McCain to accept about $84m in public funds for the fall campaign. Candidates who accept public financing cannot raise money from donors for the general election campaign.
McCain's biggest expense of the month was three million to Fidelity & Trust Bank to finish paying off a four million loan that had become the focus of a stalemate between McCain and the FEC. Campaign finance regulators want to make sure McCain did not use the promise of public financing in the primary to secure the loan. McCain was eligible for public financing in the primary, but his lawyers said they did not use that eligibility as collateral.
In March, his operating expenses were five million, his smallest monthly expense so far this year.
McCain's March expenses ranged from $758 000 for air charters to $151.55 to a Los Angeles florist. The campaign reported a debt of $707 000, much of it outstanding American Express billings. McCain had his most fundraising success in California and Florida, each of which yielded more than one million dollars.
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