That’s the buzz right now.
Fundraising dropped off dramatically for the two leading contenders for the Democratic presidential nomination, but Sen. Hillary Clinton and Sen. Barack Obama will still report raising in the neighborhood of $20 million each over this three month time period, sources close to both candidates tell CNN.
Clinton will show she has pulled in between $17-$20 million, while Obama will report he raised between $18-$19 million. Fundraising is historically slow in the third quarter, which covers the final two months of summer and the first month of fall. In the second quarter, Obama shattered fundraising records by reporting that he raised $32.5 million, $31 million of which he could use in his bid for the Democratic nomination. Clinton raised $27 million during this same time period, and all but $6 million of it could be used in the primary.
If somebody had told me a couple years ago that $40 million dollars for the top two Democratic contenders would be considered “dropped off” fundraising, I would have asked what you were smoking. Things have clearly changed - and many (like me) haven’t even given our $50 yet. I’m curious how this round of numbers will reflect the national race of Obama vs. Clinton, if she’s ahead of him this time. Maybe I’m calling it too early, but I think this is going to become a two-person race for real soon.
It is very likely the top two Democrats will earn more than the top four Republicans.
At this point, I think Hillary is unstoppable in the polls, and if she wins this race this time, she’ll win nearly everywhere.
(And by win I mean raw dollars, not what can be spent in the primaries.)
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Here’s a question, what could Obama do with those dollars after the primaries are over? Could he punt them to the DNC? Or if he is the V.P. nominee, could he use them in the general election?