Obama Raised More Than $40 Million In March

That followed a record $55 million the Illinois senator hauled in during February.

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama raised more than $40 million in campaign contributions in March, his staff said on Thursday.

That followed a record $55 million the Illinois senator hauled in during February.

The competition between Obama and his rival Hillary Clinton for campaign cash has been closely watched with the two locked in an intense battle to become the Democratic nominee to run against Republican John McCain in November.

Obama, who leads Clinton in the number of delegates that will determine the outcome of the Democratic race, has strongly outpaced the New York senator in fundraising this year.

Clinton spokesman Howard Wolfson said her campaign would not release its fund-raising figures for March until April 20, when she must file a report with the Federal Election Commission.

"We knew that he was going to outraise us. He has outraised us over the last few months," Wolfson told reporters. "We will have the resources we need to compete and be successful."

"Both of these campaigns are raising a considerable amount of money. We are both outraising Senator McCain," he said.

Both Clinton and Obama have outraised McCain, an Arizona senator whose campaign ran short of money last year before the decorated Vietnam War vet started winning primaries.

But Clinton has significantly less money available than her Democratic rival because of weaker fundraising and higher debt. Also, some of the money she has raised can only be used if she becomes their party's nominee.

Clinton had some $10.9 million in cash left at the end of February compared with $31.6 million for Obama, according to an analysis of FEC filings by the Washington-based Campaign Finance Institute.

The figures showed Clinton had significantly higher debts -- she owed $8.7 million, not including the $5 million she herself loaned to her campaign. Obama had about $625,000 in debt to be paid.

Obama's campaign said the more than $40 million he raked in during March came from some 442,000 contributors, including 218,000 first-time donors. The average contribution level was $96, the campaign said.

Obama suffered a loss of momentum in March with losses to Clinton in Ohio and Texas that broke a prior winning streak. But Obama has racked up some endorsements lately from prominent party figures including New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson and Pennsylvania Sen. Robert Casey.

Obama, who would be the first black president, and Clinton, who would be the first woman to win the White House, have been campaigning heavily over the last few days in Pennsylvania, which holds its voting contest on April 22. Clinton is ahead in the polls.