Presidential Hopefuls In A Money Race

WASHINGTON (AP) Rudy Giuliani raised $11 million for the presidential race this summer, outpacing fellow Republicans though Mitt Romney was right behind with $10 million and tapped his own fortune to

Thursday, October 4th 2007, 1:39 pm

By: News On 6

WASHINGTON (AP) Rudy Giuliani raised $11 million for the presidential race this summer, outpacing fellow Republicans though Mitt Romney was right behind with $10 million and tapped his own fortune to pump additional millions into the battle.

Rudy Giuliani's campaign income for the July-September quarter left him with $16 million cash on hand, aides said Thursday. Of that, about $12 million is available for the primary contests. Mitt Romney had $9 million on hand for the battle for the Republican nomination.

Mitt Romney contributed $8.5 million to his own campaign, a total that nearly matched his personal contributions for the first six months of the year. Overall, Mitt Romney, a former venture capitalist and Massachusetts governor, has dipped into his personal wealth for nearly $17.5 million.

John McCain, fighting to get back in the fray with the Republican front-runners, raised $6 million in the past three months and has $3.6 million cash on hand, his campaign said.

Aides to John McCain said the fundraising and the financial condition of his campaign represent a turnaround for the Arizona senator, whose spending during the first six months of the year strained his budget while his polling numbers plummeted.

So far in the presidential contest, Mitt Romney has raised about $45 million from contributors. With his own money, the campaign's total receipts are more than $62 million. Rudy Giuliani is not far behind with more than $44 million, but about $4 million of that can be spent only in the general election, if Rudy Giuliani wins the nomination. Mitt Romney is not raising any general election money.

The two Republicans lag far behind the two Democratic Party money leaders: Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama. Hillary Rodham Clinton has raised about $63 million for the primary and about $17 million for the general election. Hillary Rodham Clinton also has transferred $10 million left over from her 2006 Senate campaign. Barack Obama has raised about $75 million for the primary contest and about $4 million for the general election.