The early buzz about the upcoming 2008 presidential election is becoming steadily louder as politically interested Jumbos gear up for what may be a very competitive primary election season among Democratic and Republican candidates.
With a large candidate pool full of presidential hopefuls from a variety of backgrounds, pundits and analysts have had their hands full with speculation about what may happen in the year to come.
Early this week, candidates released their first-quarter fundraising numbers, which are often seen as early indicators of their chances in the primary and general elections. In this installment of "By the Numbers," the Daily takes a first look at the numbers behind the coming campaign season, and how they compare to elections in the past.
8 Total number of Democratic candidates who have announced that they are running 10 Total number of Republican candidates who have announced that they are running $115.5 million Reported funds raised by the top six 2008 frontrunners, according to BBC News
$65 million Funds raised by the top three Democratic candidates $50.5 million Funds raised by the top three Republican candidates
$26 million Funds raised by Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton $25 million Funds raised by Democratic candidate Barack Obama $23 million Funds raised by Republican candidate and former Mass. Governor Mitt Romney
0 Number of black candidates who have ever won a Democratic or Republican primary 0 Number of female candidates who have ever won a Democratic or Republican primary 0 Number of Mormon candidates who have ever won a Democratic or Republican primary
$15 million Funds raised by Republic candidate Rudy Giuliani $14 million Funds raised by Democratic candidate John Edwards $12.5 million Funds raised by Republican candidate John McCain $6 million Amount raised by Tufts alumnus and New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson (A '70, F '71), who was not among the top six fundraisers
$8.9 million First-quarter fundraising record prior to the 2008 election, set by Democratic candidate Al Gore during his 2000 election campaign $7 million Amount George W. Bush raised in that quarter
50,000 Number of donors who contributed to Clinton's first quarter funds, according to the New York Times 100,000 Number of donors who contributed to Obama's funds, according to the Washington Post 60,000 Number of donors who contributed to John McCain's funds, according to USA Today
-compiled from BBC News, the New York Times, the Washington Post, Opensecrets.org and USA Today
