Quote of note:

Kerry, while largely undefined in the eyes of many voters, is tapping into anti-Bush fervor sweeping the Democratic Party to compete financially with the president early on. In the first three months of this year, Kerry, with more than $40 million, came close to matching Bush. Bush will report raising more than $50 million in the past three months, according to a campaign aide who demanded anonymity to discuss internal figures. All of the Democratic presidential candidates combined raised almost as much as the president in 2003.

By Jim VandeHei
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, April 2, 2004; 12:21 PM

Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) announced today that his presidential campaign has raised more than $50 million in the first three months of this year, smashing Democratic Party records and signaling a party-wide fundraising resurgence for Democrats, according to top party officials.

Kerry, recovering from shoulder surgery in Boston, reported that he followed a trail blazed by former rival Howard Dean to net better than $26 million from the Internet alone, which is emerging as the Democrats' most powerful fundraising mechanism for the presidential election.

It appears Kerry is not draining money from fellow Democrats, as some party officials feared: The Democratic National Committee broke its previous record by raising $27 million, while the House and Senate campaign committees, which both topped $11 million, also set all-time highs last quarter. Several Democrats credited anti-Bush energy, rather than excitement about Kerry, for the turnaround.

President Bush, who recently hit his reelection campaign's $170 million fundraising goal, maintains a commanding early money advantage. The Bush team has used this money for a huge television advertising campaign in swing states designed to define Kerry as a waffling, tax-raising liberal.

But the unexpected fundraising surge shows Democrats are far more competitive financially against Bush and suggests the pool of Democratic money runs much deeper than officials from both parties originally projected, GOP and Democratic strategists say. The Kerry campaign initially projected it would raise $80 million this year, then Kerry fundraisers said in interviews last month it could top $100 million in 2004 alone.