Illinois Senator and Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama raised $32.5 million in his bid to become the next President of the United States in 2008. Obama's take broke all previous Democratic Presidential fundraising records.
His haul was particularly astounding considering that rival and Democratic front runner Hillary Clinton raised $27 million. Despite the impressive tally, Obama trails Clinton in national polls. Online betting giant Sportsbook.com has Barack Obama at 7 to 2 odds to become the next President and lists Hillary Clinton as the 2 to 1 favorite .
Barack is focusing on attracting a vast number of donors that contribute small amounts of money via the internet. Hillary on the other hand has already tapped most of her supporters for the maximum contribution amounts.
Barack Obama is beating Hillary Clinton in the total amount of individual contributors as well as total dollars raised for the second quarter in a row . The total amount of money raised does not determine the outcome of elections, however, having a larger base of contributors that his rival is a signal that Obama will be a force to be reckoned with in the campaign.
In the first three months of the year, the Democrats raised close to $79 million, compared with about $53 million for the Republicans. Early indications are showing that the Democrats will out raise their Republican counterparts in the second quarter of 2007 just like they did in the first quart.
Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, Arizona Senator John McCain and former New York City Mayor Rudy Guliani have yet to disclose their second quarter figures.
Sportsbook.com have posted political betting odds to win the 2008 Presidential Election :
Hillary Clinton 2-1
Barack Obama 7-2
Al Gore 6-1
John McCain 5-1
George Allen Jr 50-1
Rudy Giuliani 3-1
Sam Brownback 25-1
Bill Richardson 50-1
Mark Warner 30-1
Mitt Romney 8-1
Mike Huckabee 50-1
Evan Bayh 40-1
Chuck Hagel 200-1
Colin Powell 50-1
Joe Biden 50-1
Bill Frist 50-1
John Edwards 8-1
Newt Gingrich 20-1
Tom Vilsack 50-1
Russ Feingold 50-1
Rick Santorum 80-1
Tom Tancredo 100-1
Mike Gravel 100-1
Tom Ridge 60-1
Tom Daschle 60-1
Bill Owens 100-1
Bob Kerrey 100-1
John Kerry 40-1
George Pataki 50-1
Condoleezza Rice 30-1
Gary Locke 100-1
Dick Gephardt 100-1
Wesley Clark 20-1
Dick Cheney 75-1
Howard Dean 100-1
Alberto Gonzales 100-1
Bob Ehrlich 100-1
Charles Schumer 100-1
Harold Ford Jr 100-1
Jack Kemp 100-1
Jeb Bush 100-1
Jay Rockefeller 100-1
Ralph Nader 100-1
Paul Bremmer 150-1
Joe Lieberman 150-1
Bob Graham 150-1
Michael Bloomberg 20-1
Tommy Franks 200-1
Jesse Jackson 200-1
George W Bush 200-1
Dennis Kucinich 200-1
Arnold Schwarzenegger 250-1
Bill Clinton 300-1
Paul Wolfowitz 750-1
Alan Keyes 750-1
Elizabeth Dole 750-1
Clint Eastwood 750-1
Ted Kennedy 750-1
Bill OReilly 750-1
Laura Bush 500-1
James Carville 1000-1
Jesse Ventura 1000-1
Al Sharpton 500-1
John Ashcroft 1500-1
Donald Rumsfeld 500-1
Pat Robertson 2000-1
Bill Maher 2500-1
Donald Trump 1000-1
Michael Moore 1000-1
Chris Dodd 100-1
Doug Stanhope 50-1
Wayne Root 1000-1
Ron Paul 15-1
Fred Thompson 4-1
Tommy Thompson 200-1
Duncan Hunter 200-1
