Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign announced Friday that it raised $37 million in the fourth quarter of 2015, bringing the year-end fundraising total to $112 million and beating the goal it had set for itself for the year.
"At the beginning of this campaign, Hillary Clinton set a goal of $100 million in primary contributions for 2015 and blew past that goal, raising more than $112 million in primary money for the year," her campaign said in a statement, reported by Reuters.
The campaign noted that many of the donors were women and that 94 percent did not break the $100 mark, according to Time. The Democratic front-runner also heads into 2016 with $38 million cash on hand.
However, simply saying that the Clinton team exceeded the $100 million primary goal doesn't quite show the extent of Clinton's fundraising muscle. While Clinton brought in $37 million in money specifically for the primary season during the fourth quarter of 2015, the campaign says that it also raised $18 million for the Democratic National Committee and for state Democratic parties, The Washington Post reported. Additionally, Clinton raised $3 million for the general election -- an indication that many donors have aleady determined she will be the party's nominee.
Clinton’s totals for the fourth quarter are higher than others that have been reported so far, including Republican contenders Ben Carson, who raised $23 million, and Ted Cruz, who cleared $19 million.
Among Democratic opponents, Bernie Sanders may not be able to compete with Clinton on total dollars raised, but he has set fundraising records of his own, which has been a concern for the Clinton campaign. Rather than big dollar donors, Sanders has focused on smaller donations from more contributors -- a strategy that served Barack Obama well in 2008 and 2012. Last month, the Sanders team said that the campaign has collected donations from more than 2 million individuals, which would outpace Obama's reelection efforts in 2012, according to The New York Times.
According to averages of national polls at RealClear Politics, Clinton leads at 53.8 percent, Bermie Sanders and Martin O'Malley trail at 31.2 percent and 4.6 percent, respectively.
