Democrats far ahead in campaign funding

Jul 04,2007 00:00 by UPI

NEW YORK -- Fundraising by presidential hopefuls has seen U.S. Democrats rake in nearly 50 percent more than Republicans since the start of the year.

The totals available as of Wednesday show Democratic contenders have raised $144.3 million compared with $101.7 million for the Republicans, the New York Times reported.

The Washington Post said Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., had 258,000 contributors since January, which exceeds the combined number of donors for three Republican rivals: former New York mayor Rudolph Giuliani, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney and Arizona Sen. John McCain.

Strategists in both parties told the Times the gap in enthusiasm is driven in part by President George Bush's low approval ratings, the war in Iraq and the failure of any of the Republican candidates to emerge as a clear front-runner.

In disclosing his quarterly take on Tuesday, Romney announced he has lent his campaign $6.5 million from his personal fortune to supplement the $14 million he raised from April through June, the Post said.