Obama raises $25 million, rivals Clinton in fundraising

DAVENPORT, Iowa – Democrat Barack Obama raked in $25 million for his presidential bid in the first three months of 2007, placing him on a par with front-runner Hillary Rodham Clinton and dashing her image as the party’s inevitable nominee.\n“We’ve exceeded all of our hopes and expectations,” Obama said in an e-mail to supporters Wednesday. “You’ve sent an unmistakable message to the political establishment in Washington about the power and seriousness of our challenge.”\nThe donations came from an eye-popping 100,000 donors, the campaign said.\nThe figures were the latest evidence that Obama, a political newcomer who has served just two years in the Senate, has emerged as the most powerful new force in presidential politics this year. It also reinforced his status as a significant threat to Clinton, who’d hoped her own $26 million first-quarter fundraising total would begin to squeeze her rivals out of contention.