WASHINGTON, August 16, 2008 (AFP) - Democratic White House hopeful Barack Obama raised 51 million dollars in July, nearly double the amount collected by his Republican rival in the same period, his campaign said Saturday.

'More than 65,000 new donors contributed to the Obama campaign during the month of July, bringing the total raised for the month to over 51 million, the campaign said in a statement.

The Illinois senator now has 65.8 million dollars in his coffers, contributed by more than two million people in all, to help fund his bid to become America's first black president.

'The 65,000 new donors to the Obama campaign demonstrate just how strongly the American people are looking to fundamentally change business as usual in Washington,' said David Plouffe, campaign manager of Obama for America.

On Friday, McCain's campaign announced it had raised 27 million dollars in July, a record for the Arizona senator but which nevertheless fell far short of Obama's figures. McCain had 21 million dollars in cash on hand at the beginning of August.

Obama had raised 52 million dollars in June.

Campaign fundraising is a vital component of the modern US election machine, allowing candidates to roll out huge advertising blitzes, finance cross-country swings and build up huge staffs.