Hillary Clinton is on track to raise $45 million for the Democratic primary since declaring her presidential run in April, according to her campaign.
That’s more primary-designated money than President Obama raised during the first quarter of his reelection bid in 2011, when he set the previous record of $41.9 million. Clinton officials say they hope to raise $100 million total for the primary.
The campaign said it is still tallying donations received during the financial quarter that ended Tuesday night. The numbers will be official once the campaign files its fundraising report with the Federal Election Commission in coming weeks. That report will include much more detail about both donations and expenditures.
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Clinton has set a breakneck fundraising pace in recent weeks, holding close to 60 high-dollar fundraisers for a maximum of $2,700, while also raking money in online through small contributions, according to information released by the campaign. The number Clinton is “especially proud of,” however, is the fact that 91% of donations were for less than $100 each, the candidate said in a Tweet.
That total will likely easily eclipse all of Clinton’s Democratic primary opponents, who have yet to declare their hauls for quarter.
Sen. Bernie Sanders, who has emerged as Clinton’s top primary rival, has raised at least $8 million according to one unofficial count. But he’s sought to focus on the total number of donors, saying he’s collected money from more than 200,000 Americans at an average of just $37 apiece. That means he can return to those donors later in the campaign, while many of Clintons biggest donors will have already reached legal maximum contributions.
The Clinton campaign did not disclose how many people have contributed to her campaign, and it will be difficult to determine even once the campaign files its financial disclosures since donations under $200 do not have to be itemized.
The first fundraising haul of any campaign is read as a critical measure of strength. Barack Obama stunned observers by raising more money than Clinton in primary-designated funds in 2007. That year, Clinton had already started raising millions in money that could only be used in a general election. This time, she’s only raising primary money for now.
Alex Seitz-Wald