Senator Clinton’s record-breaking fund-raising numbers in her bid for the Democratic presidential nomination may be met or surpassed by Senator Obama, her leading Democratic opponent.

The $26 million Mrs. Clinton raised during the first quarter of fund-raising in the 2008 presidential cycle nearly triples first-quarter fund-raising records by any past Democratic candidate.

Still, the chairman of Mrs. Clinton’s campaign, Terence McAuliffe, said he thinks Mr. Obama raised a “comparable amount.”

“He’s out there, he’s exciting people. He’s great for the party. I assume he, and maybe a couple of others, will have a comparable amount,” Mr. McAuliffe told reporters yesterday during a conference call.

Mr. McAuliffe may have been trying to inflate expectations for Mr. Obama so that the Clinton rival would then fall short of them. But he may also be trying to prepare the ground for what would be viewed as a major political upset for a newcomer such as Mr. Obama. The fund-raising numbers offer an early indication of support for candidates, and the money can be used to pay for campaign commercials and other activities designed to generate votes.

A source close to Mr. Obama indicated that he has raised about $21 million for the primary. If, as some have estimated, 80% of the money Mrs. Clinton raised can be used for the primary, with the rest required by limits on donors to be reserved for the general election, the two senators may have taken in about the same amount for the primary in this quarter.

While Mrs. Clinton’s preliminary numbers wowed political pundits, her campaign did not disclose how much of the $26 million will have to be put aside for use only if she makes it to the general election. It also did not disclose how fast is she burning through the money she’s collected.

Mr. Obama’s campaign did not release any preliminary numbers for the first fund-raising quarter yesterday. It has until the official April 15 federal filing deadline to do so.

Mrs. Clinton also has another $10 million left over from her 2006 Senate campaign that she has transferred into her presidential bank account and can use for the primary.

Mr. McAuliffe touted the former first lady’s fund-raising, saying “it was the most successful fund-raising quarter” he’s ever been involved in. He said the 10-week fund-raising spree is a sign that Mrs. Clinton has widespread support among both grassroots and wealthy contributors.

When asked why he thinks Mr. Obama raised a figure in the same ballpark, Mr. McAuliffe cited the number of events the Illinois senator has held and expectations that he is doing particularly well with Internet contributors.

According to the Clinton campaign, about $6 million of its $26 million came from “grassroots” donors, including $4 million from supporters who contributed over the Internet and another $1.8 million from those who responded to direct mail.

Mr. Obama, who has been billing himself as above-the-politics-as-usual, did not give many clues about how much cash he’s taken in.
“I think that we should meet people’s expectations,” he told the Associated Press. “More importantly, I think we will have raised enough money to make sure we can compete for the next quarter and beyond. I think we’ll do pretty well.”

Meanwhile, Senator Edwards’s campaign announced yesterday that the North Carolina Democrat raised more than $14 million, including $1 million for the general election. Campaign finance rules state that donors can give a maximum of $2,300 for the primary and another $2,300 toward the general election.

Several other Democratic presidential contenders also released their fund-raising figures yesterday. Governor Richardson’s campaign said the New Mexico governor raised $6 million in primary money. Senator Dodd’s staff said he raised more than $4 million in the quarter and transferred nearly $5 million from his Senate campaign account. And, aides to Senator Biden said he raised between $3 million and $4 million for the quarter.

Mr. Edwards’s deputy campaign manager, Jonathan Prince, said the campaign will have plenty of money to compete.

“History has clearly indicated that the most money is not the key to nomination,” he said. “The key to the nomination is having enough money to communicate your ideas and your message and make sure that voters in the early states and elsewhere understand who your candidate is and what he or she stand for. We have more than enough money to do that.”

In the last several months, the candidates have hosted star-studded fund-raisers and made tireless pleas for checks to their campaigns. The preliminary numbers show the leading Democratic candidates blowing past the records set for first quarter donations in past presidential election cycles. In 1999, Vice President Al Gore raked in $8.9 million and, in 2003, Mr. Edwards lead the pack of Democrats with $7.4 million.

Democratic strategist Joseph Trippi, who ran Howard Dean’s presidential campaign in 2004, said history shows all of the leading Democrats have a strong shot.

“Once you get over $10 million, it doesn’t matter how big the number is, you’re in this game,” Mr. Trippi said. “Last time Howard Dean had $2.6 million in this quarter and he still had a shot.”

“At this point all you can do if you’re one of the other campaigns is pray that somebody misses their number,” he said. “But everybody is going to hit their numbers.”

The three leading Republican candidates for president did not release their fund-raising numbers yesterday.