Q1 fundraising numbers are out

Senator Obama is the big winner, hauling in a shocking $25 million, slightly behind Senator Clinton at $26 million. Everyone knew Clinton would rake in some serious cash but for Obama to get that close is simply stunning. Even more impressive was his 100,000 donors, doubling up Hillary’s donor base of 50,000. Additionally, his strategy has focused on cultivating an organization of small dollar contributors that he can tap again, if they have not maxed out their giving. Given Obama’s current average donation of $250 and a limit of $2300, there is a lot of room to grow.

Edwards received just over $14 million which is enough to keep him going for a while longer but not enough to get him to tier 1 status.

Obama is for real. Right now, this is a two-person race.

There are some surprises on the Republican side as well. Guiliani reported $15 million; pretty respectable if a bit low for the leading GOP candidate. McCain, second in the polls, came in at a disappointing $12 million. If this is a sign of things to come for Team McCain, they are in some very serious trouble. While McCain’s total is startling, Mitt Romney’s is flat out amazing. How the guy could pull in $23 million and poll consistently in the single digits is a mystery to me…