Obama scored fundraising landslide in Minnesota

The Illinois senator brought in five times as much money as Clinton and three times as much as McCain.

By BOB VON STERNBERG and GLENN HOWATT, Star Tribune

Last update: February 21, 2008 - 9:40 PM

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In the immediate run-up to the Feb. 5 precinct caucuses, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama overwhelmed all other candidates -- Democratic and Republican -- in the money race in Minnesota.

Foreshadowing his caucus victory on Super Tuesday, the Illinois senator's January haul of $266,338 was nearly five times the amount raised by his main rival, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York. She raised $54,200 from people who list a Minnesota address.

The figures, released Thursday by the Federal Election Commission, show that Obama's already-formidable fundraising became even more torrid in January. Of the $910,606 Minnesotans have contributed to him overall, nearly one-fourth came in during that month.

On the Republican side, Sen. John McCain of Arizona raised the most during the month, with $83,976. That didn't translate into a caucus victory, as he finished behind former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who has since dropped out of the race. Romney raised $26,104 during the month.

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee appeared to enjoy a fundraising bounce from his win in the Iowa caucuses, raising $33,300 in January, more than 40 percent of the overall total he has received from Minnesotans.

Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, saw his fundraising tail off in January, after raising more money from Minnesotans than any other candidate during the last three months of 2007.

Campaign contributions are often used as a proxy for the strength of candidates' support. By that measure, the Democrats are in a stronger position than the Republicans in Minnesota, as they consistently have been nationwide for months.

Overall, the Democratic presidential candidates have raised more than $1.8 million from Minnesotans, compared with $1.2 million raised by the Republicans.

vonste@startribune.com • 612-673-7184 howatt@startribune.com • 612-673-7192

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