Giuliani Ahead in Fund-Raising Race for Senate Seat

NEW YORK — Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani’s Senate campaign is far ahead of Hillary Rodham Clinton’s in the fund-raising race, but huge numbers of small checks are helping both campaigns get rich, according to Federal Election Commission filings released Saturday.

Giuliani’s campaign raised $7.36 million between Jan. 1 and March 31, while Clinton raised $4.73 million, the campaigns reported.

Both campaigns released estimates at the end of March reflecting similar amounts, but the final figures for the quarter were issued Saturday.

Last year Giuliani raised $12 million and Clinton raised $8 million, bringing the mayor’s total to more than $19 million and Clinton’s to more than $12 million. With seven months left before the election, the Senate race is easily on track to be the most expensive in state history.

So-called “hard money” donations from individual contributors cannot exceed $2,000 per person. However, both campaigns are raking in thousands of checks in much smaller amounts. Clinton received 55,000 donations averaging $82 each for the quarter, according to her spokesman, Howard Wolfson.