Hillary Clinton raises record USD 112 mln in 2015

Washington, Jan 2: Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton raised a record USD 112 million in 2015 for her election campaign and enters the New Year with a USD 38 million in cash.

New York-based real estate tycoon Donald Trump, the leading Republican candidate, is funding his own campaign, while his colleague Jeb Bush – whose campaign is struggling at this point – had crossed USD 100 million figure months ago.

At the beginning of this campaign, 68-year-old Clinton set a goal of USD 100 million in primary contributions for 2015. But she crossed it by raising more than USD 112 million in primary money for the year.

Clinton's USD 37 million in primary dollars in the fourth quarter set a new record for the best off-year Q4 for a non-incumbent. In addition to the money raised for her campaign, Clinton raised more than USD 18 million for the DNC and State Parties across the country through the Hillary Victory Fund in the fourth quarter.

Clinton raised roughly as much for the primary as President Barack Obama did during 2011 as a sitting president and more than either Clinton or Obama in 2007 despite having one fewer quarter to raise.

"Thanks to the hundreds of thousands of Americans who have joined together and powered this historic campaign, we are now heading into Iowa and New Hampshire with the resources we need to be successful," said Hillary for America campaign manager Robby Mook. Ninety four percent of donations to this campaign in the last quarter were in increments of USD 100 or less, Mook said.

Clinton’s nearest Democratic competitor Ben Sanders has yet to declare his year end fund raising figures. Republican Ted Cruz, who's popularity has increased in the last few months raised USD 20 million in the fourth quarter, thus making a total of more than USD 46 million this year.

Meanwhile, Trump continued with his anti-Clinton tirade. "The person that Hillary Clinton least wants to run against is, by far, me. It will be the largest voter turnout ever - she will be swamped!" he tweeted.

PTI