US President Barack Obama's campaign and its Democratic allies raised a record $181 million in September for the president's re-election effort, adding to a fundraising haul that could prove crucial in the final stretch of the White House race.
Obama's campaign said via Twitter
that 1,825,813 people donated to the campaign last month. Of that, 567,000 were new donors.
A vast majority of the donations - 98% - were $250 or less. The average contribution was $53.
Obama's campaign is proud of its base of low-dollar donors, believing that gives the president an advantage, especially at the end of the election cycle when supporters can keep giving even if they have donated before.
Since the campaign officially kicked off in April 2011, 3.9 million people have donated, it said.
The big number is another piece of good news for Obama after a jobs report on Friday showed unemployment had dipped to 7.8%.
The campaign hoped that jobs report and its fundraising success would shift attention from the president's lackluster debate performance Wednesday against Republican candidate Mitt Romney, whose aggressive showing gave his own campaign a boost.