Clinton sets fundraising record

Mrs Clinton was the first candidate to reveal fundraising results

Senator Hillary Clinton has raised a record amount of funds for her campaign to become the first female president of the United States, her aides say.

Her campaign manager said Mrs Clinton had raised more than $26m (£13m) in the first quarter of 2007.

The figure dwarfs the $8.9m raised by the former Vice President, Al Gore, at the same stage of the 2000 US election.

Mrs Clinton is considered a frontrunner to become the Democratic Party's candidate for the 2008 elections.

She also transferred an additional $10m from her Senate fundraising account to her presidential bid.

Suggesting a broad appeal, Mrs Clinton's aides said 50,000 donors were recorded in all 50 states and that 80% of donations were for $100 or less.

The Clinton campaign did not specify how much of the $36m was earmarked for the primary election and how much could be used in the general election, if she were to become the Democratic nominee.

It was not revealed how much had been spent over the three-month period.

Leading rivals

Mrs Clinton's funds total will be measured against her leading Democratic rivals Senator Barack Obama and former senator John Edwards.

There was no immediate word from either camp on Sunday, however Mr Obama has been aggressively fundraising and aides said he had more than 83,000 donors.

In an interview with the Associated Press news agency, Mr Obama said he thought his team would "do well".

"I think that we should meet people's expectations, more importantly I think we will have raised enough money to make sure we can compete for the next quarter and beyond."