Obama brings in $19m; $7m for Edwards

The presidential candidates' third-quarter fund-raising figures are trickling in, and it appears to be another big quarter for Barack Obama, who announced $19 million in contributions for the primary election, and 93,000 new contributors. Through September, Obama has now raised $75 million in primary funds from a whopping 352,000 donors.

Obama's campaign is framing his numbers as a direct challenge to the thinking that rival Hillary Clinton, who leads in most polls, looks poised to capture the nomination.

“Many in Washington have spent the last weeks declaring that outcome of this race to be pre-ordained, and the primary process a mere formality,” Obama's campaign manager, David Plouffe, said in a statement. “Yet, in this quarter alone, 93,000 more Americans joined our campaign, because they desire real change and believe Barack Obama is the one candidate who can deliver it. This grassroots movement for change will not be deterred by Washington conventional wisdom because in many ways it is built to challenge it.”

Clinton has not yet released her fund-raising figures for the third quarter, but the other leading Democrat, John Edwards, just announced that he pulled in $7 million in July, August, and September. Edwards's campaign says the amount puts them on track to raise the $40 million it says it needed.

“We are thrilled with the support we've received from people across the country,” Deputy Campaign Manager Jonathan Prince said in a statement. “Americans from every walk of life are responding to Senator Edwards's message and bold plans to change Washington."

His campaign said that nearly half of their donors last quarter were from first-time contributors. More than 150,000 people have donated to Edwards so far this year, many of them in small amounts. Last week, Edwards said he would seek public financing, a decision some political observers read as an admission that he could not raise enough on his own to compete with Clinton and Obama.

Your move, Clinton.