US Democratic presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama raised at least $25 million in the first quarter of 2007, his campaign said today.
The figure is just shy of the $26 million raised by front-runner Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton.
Mr Obama, who has served only two years in the US Senate and eight years in the Illinois state Senate, has trailed in some early opinion polls behind his colleague from New York, who on Sunday shattered previous party fund-raising records.
"This overwhelming response, in only a few short weeks, shows the hunger for a different kind of politics in this country and a belief at the grassroots level that Barack Obama can bring out the best in America to solve our problems," said Penny Pritzker, the finance chair for Mr Obama's campaign.
Democrats and Republicans are racing to show their fund-raising prowess as a sign of broad support despite the fact that the first primary contest is more than nine months