Hillary's Big Numbers

"Completely overwhelmed and gratified."

That's the word from a spokesperson from Senator Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign this afternoon during a conference call with reporters to discuss the Senator's first quarter fundraising numbers.

Clinton had hoped to raise $15 million in the first quarter in an effort to double the record set during the 2004 election by John Edwards. Clinton "dramatically exceeded" that goal, raising $26 million in the last 10 weeks. Combined with $10 million transferred from her Senate campaign, that brings Clinton's war chest to an overwhelming $36 million at this time.

Smaller donors were also heavily represented in the number. According to the campaign, $4.2 million of those donations came in over the Internet. A total of about $6 million was raised in "grassroots" donations

“This is the most successful fundraising quarter that I have ever been part of,”

said Clinton campaign chair and former DNC chairman Terry McAuliffe.

The numbers are preliminary and could shift slightly either way, and McAuliffe did note that he thinks other top-tier candidates, like Barack Obama, will have comparable fundraising numbers to Clinton.