By Pamela Gentry, BET News Senior Political Producer

Posted Oct. 2, 2007 – Twenty million dollars has been added to Sen. Barack Obama’s presidential campaign fund, and folks are taking notice.

Third-quarter fundraising ended last month and many political pundits speculated that the fundraising frenzy might fizzle.  Usually during the summer months, campaigns hit a slow period raising cash, but this time, folks kept on giving.

Obama’s top competitor Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.)  released her numbers this morning boasting $27 million raised.  Yesterday former Sen. John Edwards’ (D-N.C.) campaign announced that it had raised about $7 million and that it would accept public matching funds. 

With the cash Edwards has on hand – about $12 million – and excluding the money he’ll set aside in a general election fund, the campaign will get about $10 million in taxpayer dollars. 

None of the other Democratic candidates came close to matching  Clinton or Obama’s cash flow.  Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.) reportedly raised less than $2 million; New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson raised more than $5.5 million; and Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) raised a little more than $1 million, according to financial statements filed with the Federal Elections Commission.

Last week, during a reception in his honor, Obama told a standing-room-only crowd that he knew folks had doubted he could be a contender for the White House because he faced those same doubts when he ran for the U.S. Senate. “People said it couldn’t be done,” he recalled. 

“They said he can’t raise the money; he can’t pull together an organization; he’s behind in the polls,” Obama remembered. Obama’s camp attributes its fundraising success to “grassroots” efforts and the ability to attract small donations from a large number of supporters.

On the Republican side, frontrunners Mayor Rudy Giuliani and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney haven’t released their figures.  Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee campaign hasn’t disclosed his fundraising figures either. The official filing date isn’t until Oct. 15, so some campaigns may be taking the opportunity to rake in a few more dollars, especially if they’ve had a disappointing summer.

Even with former Sen. Fred Thompson (R-Tenn.) entering the race late, his campaign said he raised about $8 million, including the first $3.5 million, which he announced in June.  Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) wasn’t far behind with a reported $5 million; Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) is estimating he’ll raise more than the $2.4 million in the second quarter.

Black folks aren’t quick to give up the cash for political campaigns, could that be changing with Obama in the race?