Obama Raises $51M in July

Barack Obama raked in $51 million last month, not quite a record for the Illinois senator but still formidable, the Washington Post reports. He ends the month with $65.8 million in the bank, a major advantage over John McCain, who has just $21 million, despite raising a personal-best $27 million in July.

But McCain only needs to run on public donations until next month, when he receives $84 million in federal funds. He will also get assistance from the GOP, which has $75 million on hand; the DNC, which raised $27.7 million in July, has just $28.5 million. Obama's reliance on small donors to carry the  effort through November is going well: The campaign says it added 65,000 in July. (Read more Barack Obama stories.)