Can a woman running for president raise more funds than a man?

Senator Hillary Clinton know that question is one of many for a woman running for any political office. The question becomes even more relevant when an African-American male enters the race. The deadline for financial reports to the Federal Election Commission is April 15. Senator Hillary Clinton has reported over #26 million. This amount was collected from January through March with additional $10 million from the Senate campaign. Senator Clinton earned the title for collecting a record amount for any candidate. The amount is even more surprising because of the fact that women campaign fundraising does not rise to the level of their male counterpart.

Senator Clinton had a secret weapon that help build her coffer beyond the Clinton name recognition. It became a two person team, with former President William (Bill) Clinton raising funds for his wife run to the White House.

Now folks are waiting with baited soundbites to report on the fundraising success of new comer, inexperienced Illinois Senator Barack Obama. Senator Obama, a first term senator, entered the presidency race as a relatively unknown. How will this candidate measure up against the more experienced Bil-liary Clinton team?

The Washington Post reports that the lean mean machine precision machine of Obama 08 may be closer than many people would expect to come from the Obama camp.

The biggest shoe waiting to drop is still Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) Rumors are pegging Obama at more than $20 million -- a staggering sum if true.

If the number are there exceeding Senator Clinton's millions it may cause some critic to rethink whether or not Senator Obama, an African-American can compete with the name recognition of a former president. Nevertheless, Obama fundraising ability is impressive when viewed in terms of competing with names like Senator John Edwards and other in the field of Democratic nominees. USA Today reports that Senator Edwards doubled the amount raised from the last time he ran from #7.4 to $14 million.

However, even the high number of $26 million for Senator Clinton does not tell the truth of a female contender's ability to raise funds when competing among the men. Blogger weigh in here. A lot is at stake if Senator Clinton is unable to beat Senator Obama in the fundraising category.