by John McCormickSen. Barack Obama raised $55 million in February, a stunning total that his campaign hopes will breathe fresh momentum into his presidential bid following losses in three of four nominating contests earlier this week.
The Tribune has learned the Illinois Democrat raised the amount in an effort that shatters the record for money raised by a presidential campaign in a single month.
The total came from contributions from nearly three-quarters of a million donors, including about 385,000 who were donating for the first time. Virtually all of the money -- $45 million – was raised online.
Late last month, Sen. Hillary Clinton touted news that she raised $35 million in February and Obama's campaign responded coyly, saying only that it would raise "considerably more."
The Tribune reported at the time that members of Obama's finance committee had heard the monthly total could hit $50 million, a sum that would have been about half of what he raised during all of 2007.
Additional details are expected to be released this afternoon, but the campaign said more than 90 percent of the online donations in February were for $100 or less.
Obama's campaign had previously reported that it has received contributions from more than 1 million donors since the presidential campaign started.
With the primary campaign now expected to drag well into the spring, the money will be needed with campaigning still possible for a dozen nominating contests between now and early June.
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