Nearly 250,000 Open Wallets for Obama

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http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/O/OBAMA_FUNDRAISING?SITE=CATOR&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2007-06-28-10-18-53

By NEDRA PICKLER
Associated Press Writer




WASHINGTON (AP) -- Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama has improved on his stunning support in the race for campaign cash, raising his total number of donors to nearly 250,000 people in the first six months of the year.

The freshman Illinois senator impressed rivals in the first quarter when he reported 104,000 donors, but he surpassed the mark in the second quarter with 138,000 more opening their wallets, the campaign announced Thursday.

The campaign won't say yet how much the donors have given, but the large number suggests their fundraising will be competitive with the $25.7 million he raised in the first quarter. A campaign official speaking on the condition of anonymity tried to tamp down expectations by disclosing that the average donation in the second quarter is likely to be less than the roughly $247 in the first quarter.

The campaign said it's goal is to attract 250,000 donors by midnight on Saturday, the next money reporting deadline, and was running a live tally on his Web site to help bring in more. It was about 6,000 short as of Thursday morning and said that 10,000 people had already donated this week.