Clinton camp raises record $143 million in August

Washington: US Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton’s campaign raised record $143 million in August, her campaign team has announced.

Of the total, around $62 million went to the Clinton campaign, and roughly $81 million was raised for the Democratic Party and state parties across the country through joint fundraising accounts, the Clinton campaign said in a news release on Thursday, Xinhua news agency reported.

“Thanks to the 2.3 million people who have contributed to our campaign, we are heading into the final two months of the race with the resources we need to organize and mobilize millions of voters across the country,” said Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook.

“Donald Trump’s divisive rhetoric continues to drive voters away from him and the Republican Party and has created new opportunities for Democrats up and down the ticket,” he added.

The Clinton campaign began September with more than $68 million on hand, while the Democratic Party’s two other joint committees took in a combined $84 million, according to a The Hill news daily report.

“These resources will help us to register and turnout millions of voters to elect progressive candidates across the country,” said Mook.

National polls have tightened since the end of two major parties’ national convention in late July, but Clinton maintains leads in almost all battleground states.

However, unpopularity rate remains high for Clinton, thanks to her exclusive use of a private email server as secretary of state and the allegations that donors to the Clinton Foundation enjoyed an easy access to Clinton during the same period.

The former secretary of state was viewed negatively by 59 per cent of voters and her Republican rival Trump by 64 per cent, according to the NBC News and the Survey Monkey Weekly Election Tracking Poll issued on August 16.

–IANS