Senator Barack Obama's presidential campaign announced that it raised USD 66 million in August, marking another record fundraising month for the Democrat. The August total was second to the USD 55 million Obama raised last February during the primary campaign. He reached the USD 66 million mark with help from more than a half million new donors.

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Obama's total for August was almost USD 20 million more than the USD 47 million Republican rival John McCain raised last month. Obama's campaign said that with the latest figures he had more than USD 77 million in cash on hand. More details about the campaigns' finance are expected later this week, when their monthly financial reports are due at the Federal Election Commission. Obama, a prodigious fundraiser, has decided not to accept public financing for the general election, choosing instead to spend as much money as he can raise on his historic bid to put a Democrat back in the White House. Republican candidate John McCain has accepted public financing, which limits his direct spending to the USD 84 million he received after the Republican convention earlier this month. Obama's fundraisers have estimated that he still has to do better in September and October, than the August haul of USD 66 million, to remain on par with McCain and the Republican National Committee.