Obama Raises $32m to Race Ahead of Clinton in Fundraising Battle

Barack Obama has overcome his position in the opinion polls to win the latest test in his battle against Hillary Clinton for the 2008 Democratic nomination by storming ahead in the fund raising campaign.

The Illinois senator said yesterday that in the past three months he had raised at least $32.5m (£16m) for his presidential campaign - almost all of it earmarked for the primary race for the Democratic nomination. The sum sets a new party record and is expected to beat Mrs Clinton who has indicated she will raise about $27m for the April to June period.

Mr Obama's aides were last night hailing the figures as an indication that the senator's relatively poor ratings in the opinion polls behind Mrs Clinton should be treated with scepticism.

In the first six months of this year he has raised $55.7m. They also highlight that 258,000 individuals have contributed, pointing to a groundswell of support.

Mr Obama said the figures were evidence of an entire movement: "Together, we have built the largest grassroots campaign in history for this stage of a presidential race. We have hundreds of thousands of Americans who are ready to demand healthcare for all, energy independence and an end to this war in Iraq."

With the 2008 presidential election race already well under way - making it exceptionally prolonged as a result of early campaigning - several commentators had begun to speculate that Mr Obama's popularity would fade over the long haul. A recent CBS poll of Democratic primary voters put him on 24%, against Mrs Clinton on 46%.

But the fund raising figures suggest that Mrs Clinton can not afford to relax her campaign. Tonight she rolls out her secret weapon - husband Bill - who will make a rare appearance alongside her in Iowa.

Mr Obama's campaign manager, David Plouffe, said history was full of candidates trailing in the polls who came through to win the nomination. He pointed to November 1991, when Bill Clinton was in third place with less than half the support of the then-frontrunner, Jerry Brown.