Clinton Hauls In $2.5 Million After Pennsylvania

Bloomberg has the story on a staffer's report that the Clinton campaign raked in $2.5 million following the organization's Pennsylvania win last night:

Hillary Clinton parlayed her victory in the Pennsylvania Democratic presidential primary into a pitch for funds, and her campaign said she raised $2.5 million in the hours after the polls closed.

``We can only keep winning if we can keep competing with an opponent who keeps on spending so massively,'' the New York senator said at her victory rally in Philadelphia. ``The future of this campaign is in your hands.''

Clinton spokesman Mo Elleithee said the money came in less than three hours after voting ended. He called it ``our best fundraising night ever.''

Illinois Senator Barack Obama has outpaced Clinton in fundraising as he has taken the lead in the Democratic nomination race. He started the month with $42.5 million to spend compared with about $8 million for Clinton, who also reported $10.3 million in unpaid bills.

New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine and U.S. Representative Joe Sestak of Pennsylvania, both Clinton supporters, said in interviews that they expected her Pennsylvania primary victory to make it easier to bring in cash.

``There are a lot of people who are deeply enthusiastic. The money will be there,'' Corzine said, adding that he planned to make calls to contributors tomorrow.

Campaign Chairman Terry McAuliffe said Clinton would raise more in April than the $20 million she took in last month, an amount that was less than half that raised by Obama.

``He outspent us. Who cares? We're getting our message out and we're winning elections,'' McAuliffe said.

That's the campaign's key message: Clinton is winning. I watched Hillary deflect criticism of her high negatives with that argument this morning on Good Morning America, and now we've got Terry McAuliffe repeating the line.

It's certainly effective, and while the Obama camp will likely continue to do well in fundraising, the momentum of victory's always powerful, and Hillary can continue to build on her comeback credentials as the most electable Democrat heading into the remaining contests.

See more at Memeorandum, especially Mark Steyn, "Reductio ad Obamum."