US Presidential hopeful Senator Hillary Clinton has for the first time raised more money than her rivals for the Democratic nomination and moved further ahead in opinion polls.
Speaking in New Hampshire last night, Senator Clinton said this was 'a turning point election for America'.
The campaign finance figures were released by the Federal Elections Commission, which regulates political fundraising in the US.
They show the Clinton campaign has $50m (€35.7m) cash in hand with which to fight both the primary elections and, should Senator Clinton be successful in that, the presidential election next year.
It is the biggest war chest of any Democratic hopeful and it is the first time Senator Clinton has moved ahead of her rivals.
And in the latest USA Today Gallup opinion poll, the former First Lady has widened her lead in the race with 50% support compared to 21% for her nearest rival, Senator Barack Obama.
Last night at a town hall meeting in Salem, New Hampshire, Senator Clinton told a crowd of almost 600 people that she was thrilled at the prospect of being the first woman President of the US.
But she said she was not running as a woman but as the best qualified person for the job.
Gore rules out presidential bid
Former US vice president Al Gore has ruled out a late entry into the 2008 presidential race.
It was speculated that he might consider a bid after winning the Nobel Peace Prize last week.
'I don't have plans to be a candidate again, so I don't really see it in that context at all,' he said.
The 59-year-old told Oslo television that he was involved in another kind of campaign now - a global campaign to change the way people think about the climate crisis.
The Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Mr Gore for his efforts to raise public awareness about the dangers of climate change.
He shared the award with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The UN body of about 3,000 experts has highlighted the human role in rising global temperatures.
Yesterday the organisers of a campaign aimed at getting Mr Gore to run again for the presidency said they had gathered 200,000 signatures.
The national Draft Gore organisation said traffic on its website had surged dramatically in the wake of the prize.
Mr Gore has reinvented himself as a climate warrior since failing in his bid to become US president in 2000.
His film on the threat of climate change, 'An Inconvenient Truth', has already been awarded an Oscar and an Emmy.
