CHICAGO -- Sen. Barack Obama's announcement yesterday that he has raised nearly as much money as Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton this year, bringing in $25 million for his presidential bid from a wide array of contributors, shakes up the race and makes it clear that no Democrat will attain the sort of early dominance that the former first lady had been trying to establish.
Clinton, who raised $26 million in January, February and March, might re-examine her strategy for fundraising and otherwise building support, which had been based on the idea that she was the overwhelming favorite for the Democratic nomination.
Obama's fundraising has largely undermined that strategy, showing his ability to appeal to a large number of donors, who in many cases made small contributions online.
Now that Clinton, Obama and other leading candidates have demonstrated that they can raise the millions needed to run a national campaign, the contest of ideas and personality can begin.
The Clinton campaign had been bracing for the Illinois senator's fundraising news for weeks, building expectations that he would put together an impressive total.
Her operatives, who once might have expected to outmuscle their opponents with money and organization, now say that winning the nomination is likely to take time, sweat and patience.
`Serious and credible'
"Anyone who can put together $25 million in a quarter comes off as a very serious and credible candidate," said Chris Lehane, who was the spokesman for Vice President Al Gore's presidential campaign in 2000. "Enough people have been around the block in the Clinton world that they understand this is a marathon, not a sprint."
Clinton's campaign said it is on pace with its goals and has no plans to make adjustments, despite raising only slightly more than Obama.
"We are thrilled with our historic fundraising success and congratulate Senator Obama and the entire Democratic field on their fundraising, which demonstrates the overwhelming desire for change in our country," Clinton campaign manager Patti Solis Doyle said.
Had the New York senator been able to raise far more than her competitors, it might have helped her build the kind of inevitability that surrounded Texas Gov. George W. Bush in 1999. His fundraising dominance helped drive challengers from the contest and secure the Republican nomination.
