This just in from The Chicago Tribune:

Sen. Barack Obama raised at least $25 million dollars during the first quarter for his presidential campaign, a total surprisingly close to the $26 million collected by his chief rival for the Democratic nomination, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Obama actually may have raised more for the primary campaign than the former first lady, but that cannot be definitively known because the Clinton campaign has refused to say how much of its total is designated for the primary election versus the general election.

“This overwhelming response, in only a few short weeks, shows the hunger for a different kind of politics in this country and a belief at the grassroots level that Barack Obama can bring out the best in America to solve our problems,” said Penny Pritzker, Obama’s finance chair.

Oh, my! Watch out, everyone! This field is WIDE OPEN, and boy is it givine me hope! Follow me after the flip for more on this great development:

Now here’s some more good news from the Obama Campaign:

Obama raised $6.9 million-more than a quarter of his total-over the Internet from more than 50,000 online donors, the Illinois Democrat’s campaign said from Chicago this morning.

Overall, Obama received contributions from more than 100,000 individuals, his campaign said. Clinton received donations from about 50,000 people, while Edwards took in money from about 37,000 donors.

Obama’s campaign said that at least $23.5 million of its first-quarter collection would be available for the primary campaign, an important distinction because candidates are able to raise money now for both the primary and general elections.

Obviously, Obama has BROAD SUPPORT from throughout the nation, as over 100,000 PEOPLE across America have demonstrated their belief in Obama’s vision of hope, action, and change in this nation by giving donations to the Obama Campaign. And oh yes, he’s obviously enjoying plenty of success online as people use My.BarackObama.com to raise money, build community, and basically do great grassroots campaigning online. It’s just so exciting to see how Obama is taking all this grassroots support and running with it.

Now, I only hope that Obama uses all this money well. I hope he uses it to continue growing the grassroots here in California and elsewhere. I hope he uses this money to invest in building A REAL CAMPAIGN OF HOPE, ACTION, AND CHANGE that gives us all something to be excited about. After eight years of George W. Bush and his politics of division and destruction, it’s time for us to be excited and hopeful again.