The New Nation - Internet Edition

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Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama raised more than $66 million in August for his campaign against Republican John McCain, a one-month record.

The Obama campaign added 500,000 new donors en route to surpassing a previous monthly record of $55 million, campaign spokesman Bill Burton said in an e-mail. McCain campaign manager Rick Davis earlier said the candidate raised $50 million last month. The haul may reassure some Democrats who have been worried that donations for Obama were starting to fall off. Obama has a greater fundraising burden than McCain because Obama decided to bypass public financing for the general election, banking on the idea that he can raise more than the $84.1 million grant and not have to abide by corresponding spending limits.

"The 500,000 new donors to the Obama campaign demonstrate just how strongly the American people are looking to kick the special interests out and change Washington," Obama's campaign manager, David Plouffe, said in a statement. The campaign said it has now gotten donations from 2.5 million people.

Obama's campaign said it had more than $77 million in cash at the end of August. He got at least $10 million more soon after, when his campaign had a record fundraising day after Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin gave her nomination acceptance speech on Sept. 3 in St. Paul, Minnesota.