Washington: Democrat Barack Obama piled up 40 million dollars in campaign financing in March alone, a total expected to easily outstrip his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton s monthly haul.

Obama's windfall, his latest staggering show of financial muscle, will help him far outspend his rival in states where key nominating showdowns are looming, like Pennsylvania, Indiana and North Carolina.

His campaign said more than 4,42,000 donors had helped Obama raise over 40 million dollars in March, with more than 2,18,000 people contributing to the campaign for the first time.

"Today we're seeing the American people's extraordinary desire to change Washington, as tens of thousand of new contributors joined the more than a million Americans who have already taken ownership of this campaign for change," Obama's campaign manager David Plouffe said.

"Many of our contributors are volunteering for the campaign, making our campaign the largest grassroots army in recent political history."

Clinton's campaign said yesterday that they expected Obama to exceed her fundraising total for March, but added that they had enough money to compete in the dramatic Democratic nominating contest.

Source : PTI