Palin bump brings McCain 7 million dollars in a day

ST. LOUIS, Missouri - Republican vice presidential hopeful Sarah Palin proved she could bring in the money as John McCain's campaign raked in seven million dollars in the first day after he announced his historic pick.

By (AFP)

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Published: Sun 31 Aug 2008, 5:52 PM

Last updated: Sun 5 Apr 2015, 12:05 PM

‘That's more money than we raised in the fourth quarter of 2007,’ press secretary Brooke Buchanan told reporters Saturday after campaign donations were tallied. ‘She's great news.’

The campaign raised more than 4.5 million online and 2.3 million by mail and phone in the first day after introducing Palin as McCain's running mate at a standing-room only rally of 15,000 in Dayton, Ohio Friday.

It was also the highest daily tally since McCain launched his presidential bid. But it is unlikely that the Palin bump will help McCain catch up with their Democratic rival Barak Obama before the November 4 election.

The Illinois senator had raised 389 million dollars since launching his campaign last year and had 68.5 million dollars in his coffers at the end of July, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

McCain had raised 174 million dollars so far and had 32.7 million in cash on hand on July 31.

Campaign fundraising is a vital component of the modern US election machine, allowing candidates to roll out huge advertising blitzes, finance cross-country swings and build up huge staffs.

McCain raised 27 million dollars in July, a record for the campaign that still fell far short of Obama's monthly tally of 51 million dollars.

Obama's donor base has surpassed two million people willing to help fund his bid to become America's first black president.

The McCain campaign said earlier this month that its donor base had topped 600,000.


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