Obama raised record $150M in September

CHICAGO, Oct. 19 (UPI) -- Democratic U.S. presidential nominee Barack Obama shattered the record for monthly campaign contributions by raising $150 million in September, officials say.

The old mark was $67 million, also set by the Illinois U.S. senator in August, The Washington Post reported Sunday. Obama campaign officials said 632,000 new donors were added to its campaign contributors list in September, raising its total to 3.1 million. They said the average donation was less than $100.

"When Barack entered this race, he put his faith in the power of ordinary supporters like you coming together and building a movement for change from the bottom up," campaign manager David Plouffe said in a statement to supporters. "That's exactly how we got this far -- and you should feel proud of all we have accomplished together."

The record haul was seen by analysts as confirming the wisdom of Obama's controversial decision to reject public financing for his campaign, which would have imposed limits on raising and spending of campaign funds. His Republican opponent, Sen. John McCain of Arizona, opted into public financing, the Post said.