Democrat Obama raised $36 million in January

By JoAnne Allen

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democrat Barack Obama raised just over $36 million for his presidential campaign in January, three times more than Republican front-runner John McCain, according to a campaign finance report filed on Wednesday.

Locked in a tight battle with New York Sen. Hillary Clinton for the Democratic presidential nomination, Obama raised $36.1 from donors in January and had $24.9 million in cash on hand at the end of the month to spend on his campaign.

Clinton raised $13.9 million in contributions in January and made a personal loan to her campaign of $5 million, according to her Federal Election Commission report.

Clinton had $29.1 million in cash on hand before the February contests in the state-by-state battle to nail down the nomination for the November 4 presidential election. Obama has won 10 state nominating contests in a row against Clinton.

McCain's campaign was nearly derailed last summer by lackluster fundraising but the pace picked up as he moved closer to becoming the likely Republican presidential nominee.

According to an FEC filing, the Arizona senator raised $11.7 million in January, more than he raised in the previous three months combined.

McCain's rival, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, raised $3.9 million in January, according to his FEC report.

(Writing by JoAnne Allen; Editing by Peter Cooney)