Obama nearly doubled McCain fundraising in July

US: U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama raised more than $51 million in July, his campaign said on Saturday, nearly double that of his Republican rival John McCain.

The Obama campaign received contributions from 65,000 new donors, it said, and a total of more than 2 million people have contributed.

The Illinois senator's campaign has $65.8 million cash on hand, it said. That was a drop from $72 million in cash in June.

The Obama campaign's July haul was near the $52 million it raised the previous month, and the McCain camp's total topped the $22 million it raised in June.

"The 65,000 new donors to the Obama campaign demonstrate just how strongly the American people are looking to fundamentally change business as usual in Washington," Obama's campaign manager David Plouffe said in a statement.

Chicago, Sunday, Reuters