New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson raised about $5.2 million (¤3.6 million) for his Democratic U.S. presidential bid during the last three months, bringing his total fundraising for the year to more than $18 million (¤12.7 million), his campaign said Sunday, according to AP. The numbers could solidify Richardson's position behind the three top-polling and top fundraising Democrats _ Senators Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton and former Senator John Edwards. The third-quarter fundraising period ends Sunday. Richardson's was the only presidential campaign from either party to release end-of-quarter estimates. All candidates must file detailed financial reports by Oct. 15. Richardson's performance could move him closer to Edwards in the race for money and will likely put him well ahead of the remainder of the Democratic presidential pack. Obama and Clinton lead the Democratic and Republican fields in fundraising. «We continue to count contributions as they come in throughout the day, but this figure obviously separates us from the second-tier candidates and makes clear this is a four-person race,» Richardson spokesman Tom Reynolds said Sunday.
