Obama brings in $51M in July

WASHINGTON, Aug. 16 (UPI) -- U.S. Sen. Barack Obama's presidential campaign reported Saturday that donors gave more than $51 million in July.

The presumptive Democratic nominee's cash on hand dropped to $65.8 million from $71.7 million at the beginning of the month, The Chicago Tribune reported.

Obama reported raising far more than the likely Republican nominee, Sen. John McCain. The McCain campaign reported Friday that it raised $27 million and had $21.4 million in the bank.

McCain is participating in the public financing system, which will give him $84 million while capping the amount he can raise outside the system. Obama made the controversial decision to bypass the system, the first candidate to do so since it was created after Watergate.

Obama has said he plans to raise $300 million by October. His fundraising, although it has set records, is somewhat behind its goals.

The campaign said it had 65,000 new donors in July.