Clinton expects to be outspent by Obama campaign

HILLARY CLINTON’S campaign, lagging far behind Barack Obama’s fundraising this year, expects to be outspent byMr Obama in upcoming Democratic nominating contests just as it was in Super Tuesday states, her strategists said last night.

Officials with both campaigns have said Mr Obama raised $32 million in January and that Clinton raised $13.5m, a significant gap between the two that allowed Mr Obama to place ads in virtually every Super Tuesday state and to get a head start on advertising in primaries and caucuses over the next week.

In a teleconference with reporters, Ms Clinton’s chief strategist Mark Penn said the former first lady was having a “record day” raising money over the ìnternet yesterday. “We will have funds to compete, but we’re likely to be outspent again.”

Asked whether Ms Clinton and her husband, former president Bill Clinton, had decided to dip into their own wealth to finance the campaign, Penn said: “I’m not aware that they have.” Campaign communications director Howard Wolfson said he would inquire. The Clinton’s financial disclosures, which reveal only broad ranges of assets, place their wealth between $10 million to $50 million.

Ms Clinton’s name recognition and lead in polls in some of the bigger upcoming states give her an advantage and Mr bama’s higher spending rate did not translate into victories in several states Tuesday.

But the terrain ahead features contests in the short term that are favourable to Mr Obama. On Saturday, Mr bama and MsClinton will compete in Louisiana and Nebraska primaries and a caucus in Washington. On Tuesday, Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia hold primaries.

The Clinton camp is counting on March 4 match-ups in Ohio and Texas and an April 22 primary in Pennsylvania. All three are expensive states in which to campaign. Mr Obama’s camp signalled that he was ready to invest money in those states as well.

Ms Clinton spent $15m in December going into the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary. Her campaign spent at least $9m in the last two weeks of January advertising in Super Tuesday states. Mr Obama spent about $11m in Super Tuesday advertising.

Ms Clinton raised $23.7m in the last quarter of 2007 for the primary elections compared to Mr Obama’s $22m. Both had about $18.5m cash on hand for the primaries going into January. But Mr Obama roared to a fundraising lead in January by collecting money at the rate of at least $1m a day and attracting more than 170,000 new donors.