Jul 18, 2008 12:07 am US/Eastern
Campaign 08: Running Mate Blog: 7/17/08
WASHINGTON (CNN) ―
Samantha Hayes
Washington, DC
July 17, 2008
52 million dollars is an enormous amount of money by any measure, but record breaking for a presidential candidate. That's how much Barack Obama's campaign raised- just in the month of June! The news came from David Plouffe, Obama's campaign manager, who thanked supporters. Plouffe mentioned specifically those who have contributed to the campaign for the first time. The average donation was $68. The money itself is very important for Obama, who has decided to forego matching federal funds, funds his rival John McCain has decided to accept. Obama's fundraising numbers also shows momentum and continued enthusiasm for his campaign. And he'll need to maintain that especially in the closing months of the general election campaign.
That's because the race is so close- something CNN's deputy political director Paul Steinhauser believes will still be the case come November. Both candidates are looking for support anywhere they can find it- even in voting blocks and states that typically may play for the other team. In my conversation with Steinhauser this afternoon, he told me that Obama is "going where no Democratic candidate has gone before." Obama has spent $1.3 million on ad buys in Georgia, $1 million in North Carolina, and $1.8 million in Virginia, according to TNS/Campaign Media Analysis Group, CNN's political television advertising consultant. Both candidates have spent millions of dollars in battleground states like Ohio and Pennsylvania.
June was also a record breaking month for John McCain. The presumptive Republican nominee raked in $22 million. And McCain, who will be accepting public funds, will get an additional $85 million to spend after the Republican convention.
Some political observers believe Obama still has the financial advantage, if he can continue to raise large amounts of money. Those funds could be crucial in the final months of a close race.
Of course, no campaign, no matter how rich, fails to miss an opportunity to drop the bucket in the well one more time. In that same email where he thanks supporters for the record June haul, Obama campaign manager David Plouffe reminds supporters of the tough fight ahead and asks them to dig just a little deeper. "Can you make a donation of $25 now to strengthen our movement for change?
(© MMVIII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
