Hillary Clinton Raises $22 Million for Campaign

ALBANY, N.Y. – Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, her Republican opposition struggling financially, reported Friday that her re-election campaign account had more than $22 million on hand as of the end of last month.

The former first lady said her campaign had raised almost $5.7 million over the past three months.

"This is a great demonstration of the extensive, enthusiastic support Senator Clinton continues to receive for her re-election," said Patti Solis Doyle, executive director of the Friends of Hillary campaign committee.

Clinton had $19.7 million as of the end of March after raising more than $6 million during the first three months of the year.

Solis Doyle said that over the second quarter of this year, the Clinton committee received 38,377 individual contributions with almost 35,000 of those donors giving $100 or less. The Clinton aide said that was a demonstration of the former first lady's grass-roots appeal.

Former Yonkers Mayor John Spencer and Kathleen Troia "KT" McFarland, a Reagan-era Pentagon official, are vying for the Republican nomination to challenge Clinton. Both Republicans have had trouble raising money.

McFarland spokesman William O'Reilly said Friday that her campaign committee had just $282,199 on hand as of the end of June, down from $430,000 at the end of March. The latest account balance does not include a $100,000 loan she is making to her committee, O'Reilly said. Over the three month-period, the McFarland campaign has raised $224,000, he said.

The Spencer campaign had provided no information by mid-afternoon on Friday about its latest filing. It had $340,000 at the end of March.

The Clinton filing was the latest show of strength by the front-runner in the polls among the potential 2008 Democratic presidential contenders. Any money she doesn't use for her re-election race can be used in a presidential race.

By way of comparison, when she first ran for Senate in 2000, Clinton had just $6.9 million as of the end of June.