Some Obama Numbers

From the NY Daily News:

Barack Obama flexed his fund-raising muscles Thursday in a show of strength following Hillary Clinton's big wins Tuesday, announcing he had raised a record-shattering $55 million last month.

Obama's February windfall is $20 million more than Clinton raised in the same period and nearly $20 million more than he had raised the previous month - a stockpile of cash for the seven-week war ahead of the April 22 Pennsylvania primary.

In all, Obama has raised $193 million for his White House bid.

Some other numbers from The Politico:

• Contributors: 727,972
• First Time Contributors: 385,101
• Total Contributors — Campaign to Date: 1,069,333
• More than $45 million raised online in February
• More than 90% of online donations were $100 or less
• More than 50% of online donations were $25 or less
• More than 75% of online donors in February were first-time online donors
• More than a third of those new online donors in February went on to engage in volunteer activity on My.BarackObama.com (planning their own offline events, making phone calls from home, joining local grassroots volunteer groups)

Greg Sargent, over at TPM Election Central, had this to say about these numbers:

Remember, when the Hillary campaign announced they'd raised in the neighborhood of $36 million for the month, the Obama camp played it close to the vest, saying only that they'd raised "considerably more." They held off on releasing the figures until now -- after the March 4th voting -- which prompted speculation that they were hoping to release the numbers to either shift the story away from Hillary's victories or put a final nail in the Hillary campaign's coffin had she not had a good showing.

Senator John McCain, however, isn't do as well. From the Politico last February 19:

John McCain raised $11.7 million in January, according to documents filed tonight with the FEC.

McCain also borrowed another $950,000 during the month.

He now has just over $5 million cash on hand, but is still carrying significant debt.

He still has a little problem with the FEC:

The government's top campaign finance regulator says John McCain can't drop out of the primary election's public financing system until he answers questions about a loan he obtained to kickstart his once faltering presidential campaign.

The problem?

By accepting the public money, McCain would be limited to spending about $54 million for the primaries, a ceiling his campaign is near. That would significantly hinder his ability to finance his campaign between now and the Republican National Convention in September.

Oh, the ties that bind...

But back to Senator Obama. He'll probably be needing all that cash in a few weeks. Pennsylvania's at the very least leaning towards Maria's Candidate, Senator Clinton. Again, from the Politico:

Pennsylvania, where the Democratic campaign heads on April 22 for a dramatic and possibly decisive showdown, is another must-win state for Hillary Rodham Clinton.

But it is also a should-win state.

Like neighboring Ohio, where Clinton won 54 percent to Barack Obama’s 44 percent, Pennsylvania’s population is older and whiter than the rest of the nation. Its residents make less money than the national average, and are less well-educated.

The issues that rank high on their list of priorities — like health care and the economy — are the ones on which Clinton tends to draw the most support.
And just as in Ohio, much of the state’s political establishment is aligned with Clinton, led by a popular Democratic governor who’s pulling out all the stops on her behalf.

Should be an interesting month and a half don't you think, Maria?