Hillary Clinton has raised $49 million for campaign

New York Sen. Hillary Clinton, who is leading her Republican opponent by 29 points or more in recent polls, has raised almost $49 million for her re-election campaign, according to a Federal Election Commission filing.

Clinton had $15.8 million in cash at the end of September, more than the total campaign fund-raising of such fellow incumbent senators as Ohio Republican Mike DeWine.

The money may be rolled into a presidential campaign should Clinton, 58, decide to run in 2008. It also allows her to help Democrats in tighter races now. In October, for the second straight month, she donated $1 million to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and also gave $250,000 to its counterpart in the House, her campaign said.

"We are doing all we can to support Democrats in New York and around the country in this critical election year," said Patti Solis Doyle, the executive director of Clinton's re-election committee, in a statement.

The DSCC, run by Clinton's fellow New York Sen. Chuck Schumer, raises funds for senatorial candidates throughout the country. Clinton is running against former Yonkers Mayor John Spencer. A Siena College Research Institute poll last month found Clinton leading by a margin of 62 percent to 33 percent.

Clinton also reported spending about $33 million over the course of the campaign. Since she has had little need to advertise to defend the race, she may be using the money to help with a potential White House bid by building donor lists and recruiting volunteers, said Jennifer Duffy, who tracks Senate races for the nonpartisan Cook Political Report in Washington.

"It's the investment they have clearly made," Duffy said. "Those are big numbers for somebody who doesn't have a race."

Candidates in races in other parts of the country are pulling in far less than Clinton. Ohio's DeWine today reported raising $2.7 million in the third quarter, bringing his total for the campaign to $13.8 million.

DeWine's opponent, Democratic Rep. Sherrod Brown, topped him in the quarter, raising $2.9 million and bringing his total for the campaign to $8.6 million. DeWine continues to have a cash advantage, reporting about $4.5 million in the bank as of Sept. 30, compared with $1.2 million for Brown.

The cash edge is critical in the final weeks of the campaign as voters start to make up their minds amid a barrage of advertising. DeWine and Brown are running neck and neck in recent polls, and Democrats are looking to Brown to bring them one of the six seats they need to reclaim the Senate.