The 2008 Presidential Election is turning out to be the most expensive race in American history. Although it's not a top issue on anyone's platform, campaign finance is a driving force in almost every presidential hopeful's run for election. Bank balances are mentioned in the same breath as poll numbers and many candidates have dropped out for lack of funds in what FEC Chairman Michael Toner predicts will be a "$1 billion election."http://www.newser.com/2008 - Newseren-usNewser Feed GeneratorThu, 28 Aug 2008 7:39:15 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/35774/biggest-convention-donors-usually-need-favors.html?refid=rss_all_defaultMajor donors to the Democratic and GOP conventions this year either have business pending with politicians or have recently received a favorable ruling, the Los Angeles Times reports. From cable companies to a government union to an electric utility, millions of dollars have flowed into party coffers—but both sides deny any attempt to buy votes.http://www.newser.com/story/35774/biggest-convention-donors-usually-need-favors.html?refid=rss_all_defaultMon, 25 Aug 2008 16:10:08 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/35064/obama-raises-51m-in-july.html?refid=rss_all_defaultBarack Obama raked in $51 million last month, not quite a record for the Illinois senator but still formidable, the Washington Post reports. He ends the month with $65.8 million in the bank, a major advantage over John McCain, who has just $21 million, despite raising a personal-best $27 million in July.http://www.newser.com/story/35064/obama-raises-51m-in-july.html?refid=rss_all_defaultSat, 16 Aug 2008 13:37:09 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/34999/mccain-raises-27m-in-july.html?refid=rss_all_defaultJohn McCain raised $27 million in July, his largest one-month fundraising haul since clinching the nomination, while the Republican National Committee brought in nearly $26 million. "Our fundraising continues to be very healthy," Rick Davis, McCain's campaign manager, said in a conference call with reporters, noting that July was the fifth straight month in which McCain has improved his cash flow.http://www.newser.com/story/34999/mccain-raises-27m-in-july.html?refid=rss_all_defaultFri, 15 Aug 2008 9:49:43 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/34275/fundraiser-taps-questionable-network.html?refid=rss_all_defaultA flurry of campaign contributions to John McCain were procured from an unlikely network of ordinary people with no clear political agenda, the Washington Post reports. The contributors were recruited to write checks for the legal limit of $2,300 by Harry Sargeant, a former naval officer turned oil executive with an extensive list of contacts in the Middle East.http://www.newser.com/story/34275/fundraiser-taps-questionable-network.html?refid=rss_all_defaultWed, 06 Aug 2008 8:01:25 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/34297/obama-network-of-big-donors-rivals-bushs.html?refid=rss_all_defaultBarack Obama likes to point to the avalanche of small-money donations that account for a full half of his record $340 million haul. But he has also been carefully cultivating a network of big-money bundlers since his earliest days in the Senate, the New York Times reports. As a result, Obama’s fleet of boosters are on pace to rival even George W. Bush’s vaunted “rangers” and “pioneers.”http://www.newser.com/story/34297/obama-network-of-big-donors-rivals-bushs.html?refid=rss_all_defaultWed, 06 Aug 2008 10:30:53 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/34211/mccain-hopes-6m-olympic-ad-buy-a-winner.html?refid=rss_all_defaultAthletes won’t be the only competitors when the Beijing Olympics open Friday, Advertising Age reports: John McCain’s campaign made a last-minute, $6 million ad buy with NBC, topping the whopping $5 million Democratic opponent Barack Obama is spending. The large national scope of the advertising blitz is a rarity in recent presidential campaigns.http://www.newser.com/story/34211/mccain-hopes-6m-olympic-ad-buy-a-winner.html?refid=rss_all_defaultTue, 05 Aug 2008 13:08:42 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/32957/obama-raises-25m-in-a-single-day.html?refid=rss_all_defaultBarack Obama brought in more donations on the last day of June than John McCain did in the entire month, Politico reports. The unprecedented $25 million day accounted for nearly half of Obama’s $54 million total. It was one of five days on which the campaign brought in more than $1 million; John McCain had no million-dollar days en route to raising $22 million in June.http://www.newser.com/story/32957/obama-raises-25m-in-a-single-day.html?refid=rss_all_defaultMon, 21 Jul 2008 8:06:33 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/32944/clinton-lends-campaign-1m-as-debts-mount.html?refid=rss_all_defaultHillary Clinton lent her suspended presidential campaign an additional $1 million at the end of last month, according to filings with the Federal Election Commission. The newest self-loan—the New York senator has now lent herself $13.2 million—underscores how much difficulty she is facing in retiring her mountain of debt. A Clinton spokesman told the New York Times that the new loan was to "pay immediately outstanding debts."http://www.newser.com/story/32944/clinton-lends-campaign-1m-as-debts-mount.html?refid=rss_all_defaultMon, 21 Jul 2008 5:32:28 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/32684/obama-rakes-in-52m-in-june.html?refid=rss_all_defaultBarack Obama is back up in the fundraising stratosphere, pulling in $52 million in June, the campaign said today. The total is just shy of the record $55 million he drew in February, and it more than laps John McCain’s $22 million take in June. The total lays to rest speculation that Obama was in for another down month after raising “only” $30 million in April and $21.9 million in May.http://www.newser.com/story/32684/obama-rakes-in-52m-in-june.html?refid=rss_all_defaultThu, 17 Jul 2008 8:20:42 CDT