US Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama raised a record $66 million (€47 million) in August, a campaign spokesman said today.
The latest figures may bolster expectations of a money advantage that Mr Obama could have over Republican candidate John McCain in the final two months of the election campaign.
Mr Obama spokesman Bill Burton said the August figure was helped by 500,000 new donors. The tally for the latest month exceeded the $55 million for February, which marked a record for Mr Obama and a record for any presidential candidate during a primary.
After far surpassing Mr McCain in private fundraising, earlier this year Mr Obama opted against taking public funds for the final stretch of the campaign.
Mr McCain, who chose to take public financing, has access to an infusion of $84 million from a government presidential election fund for the period between the Republican convention and the November 4th election.
In August, his last month of private fundraising, Mr McCain took in $47 million, a record for his campaign and a number that was helped by his announcement of his running mate, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin.
Despite his prodigious private fundraising, Mr Obama may not have as much of an advantage as he would when it comes to the amount of money he will have available to spend on advertisements and get-out-the vote efforts.
Mr McCain is able to benefit from money contributed to the coffers of the Republican National Committee, which has been more successful at raising money than the Democratic Party.
Mr Obama took the day off from the campaign trail today and stayed at home in Chicago. The night before, he cancelled an appearance on NBC's
Saturday Night Livebecause he did not want to be making jokes while Hurricane Ike was ravishing Texas this weekend.
Mr McCain was campaigning in the northern swing state of New Hampshire where he attended a Nascar race, a sport usually more associated with Republican strongholds in the South. He toured the garage area and shook hands with the drivers.
"It's great to be back in New Hampshire," Mr McCain told the race crowd. His win in the New Hampshire primary gave a boost to his campaign in January and got him back on track for the nomination.
He was to join up again this week with Ms Palin, who has swelled crowds and brought enthusiasm to rallies when she appear with Mr McCain. They separated last week so that Ms Palin could conduct her first media interview since her surprise pick as running mate and some campaigning on her own.
Ms Palin was the subject of stories in the
New York Timesand the
Washington Posttoday looking into her record as mayor of Wasilla, Alaska, and governor of the state. The stories portrayed her as an executive who valued secrecy and loyalty and took disagreements very personally.
"Throughout her political career, she has pursued vendettas, fired officials who crossed her and sometimes blurred the line between government and personal grievance," the
Timessaid in an article based on public documents and 60 interviews.
The newspapers said her style left some with bad feelings and she had appointed many of her school chums to major government posts. The
Timessaid she appointed a high school classmate to a $95,000-a-year job at the State Division of Agriculture after she cited her childhood love of cows as a qualification for the job.
Reuters