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Mason City, Iowa: If money talks in US presidential politics, Senator Barack Obama has 25 million reasons why sceptical Democrats should start to listen.
The $25 million (Dh91.8 million) in campaign contributions the Illinois Democrat reported collecting in the first three months of this year was just $1 million (Dh3.6 million) less than rival Hillary Rodham Clinton's record haul and was a remarkable feat for a novice in national politics.
"He was the newcomer, he was the outsider, and this shows he's a serious candidate," said Ron Parker, a Democratic strategist in Iowa, home of the nation's first nominating caucuses. "It shows he can do a lot more than draw big crowds."
Fundraising by Clinton and Obama, combined with healthy donations to their party rivals, helped Democratic presidential candidates out-raise Republicans $80 million to $40 million, a surprising role reversal for the usually well-funded party.
"That should send a pretty clear signal that people are looking for a change," said another Iowa Democratic activist, Carl Grover.
While he has not donated money to Obama, Grover said, "I'm definitely thinking about it." Obama backers also were cheering the fact that $23.5 million of the $25 million they raised is targeted at what is shaping up to be a competitive primary fight. Clinton has not disclosed how much of her money is targeted at the primary and how much must be held for general election use, should the New York senator be the nominee.
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