Democratic presidential frontrunner Hillary Clinton raised $26 million in the first quarter, shattering party records while barely meeting the expectations she’s created as a prodigious fundraiser.

According to Bloomberg News, the New York senator added $10 million more left over from her Senate account, bringing her total to $36 million, her campaign announced yesterday.

The campaign didn’t say how much it spent organizing fundraising events from New York to Los Angeles, or how much it had left over in cash.

John Edwards, one of her chief rivals, brought in $14 million.

The so-called “money primary” now offers a test for Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, Hillary’s closest national competitor.

Clinton had been trying to deflate Obama, John Edwards and other rivals with her front-running status, endorsements and huge fundraisers.

This didn’t quite do it.

“I don’t think the amount is the knockout blow,” Herbert Alexander, professor emeritus of political science at the University of Southern California, said.

Obama’s campaign has yet to release a fundraising estimate. The campaigns aren’t required to report their first-quarter results until April 15.

Campaign finance experts and political operatives expect Barack Obama to report that he raised $20 million or more.

“Clinton is raising money at a rate far beyond any previous Democrat,”said Anthony Corrado, a professor at Colby College. “Really, the only comparison here is with George W. Bush when he ran without opposition in 2004.”

On the Republican side, ex-Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney reported $23 million, former New York Mayor and current GOP frontrunner Rudolph Giuliani reported more than $15 million, including some $10 million in March alone, and Arizona Senator John McCain has yet to release figures.

Three other Democratic contenders also gave preliminary fundraising totals for the first quarter: New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson brought in $6 million, Delaware Senator Joseph Biden raised about $3 million.

Connecticut Senator Christopher Dodd took in $4 million and added $5 million more from his Senate account, bringing his first-quarter total to $9 million. Dodd had about $7.5 million in cash as of March 31.

This year’s record fundraising stems in part from the disintegration of the public financing system, which offers candidates government funds if they abide by spending limits.

Hillary Clinton began raising money for both the primary and general elections from the start, allowing a single contributor to pony up $4,600. In 2003, candidates raised at most $2,000 from an individual donor.

Clinton spokesman Howard Wolfson said he didn’t know how much of the $26 million came from donations for the general campaign, usable only if Clinton becomes the Democratic nominee.

John Edwards, by contrast, said about $1 million of his $14 million is general-election money.

Counting Senate campaign funds, Hillary Clinton’s $36 million is the third-biggest fundraising quarter in the year before a presidential election, trailing only the $50 million President Bush raised between July and September 2003 and his $48 million in the fourth quarter of 2004.

“Hillary is expected to win everything,” Democratic consultant Jenny Backus said. “She’s running as the inevitable frontrunner.”

The previous first-quarter record for a Democrat was held by former Vice President Al Gore, who raised $8.9 million in 1999.

The biggest earner in the same period of 2003 was John Edwards, who surprised analysts by bringing in $7.4 million.

Both the Clinton and Edwards campaigns said they couldn’t give figures yet for cash on hand as they are still tabulating their expenses. Clinton drew fire in 2006 for spending $37 million of the $51 million she raised for a U.S. Senate re-election campaign with no real competitor.

“She has a very top-heavy operation, and eventually, it is going to be a problem for her with donors,” said Linda Fowler, a government professor at Dartmouth College in Hanover, N.H.

Before this year, the biggest Democratic fund-raising quarter in an off year was the $16 million that former Vermont Governor Howard Dean took in between October and December 2003.

Dean helped revolutionize presidential campaigning by harnessing the power of the Internet. This year, Clinton’s campaign bragged she took in $4.2M over the Internet in the first three months of 2007. Edwards brought in $3.3M online.

In recent days, while candidates scrambled to raise money before the first-quarter deadline of March 31, they also tried to temper expectations. The Clinton campaign, for example, insisted its goal was just $15 million.

“The way to read this is those who set unrealistically high expectations for the other camp are attempting to lay a trap, and those who are pooh-poohing their own prospects are deliberately setting the stage for a more impressive showing,” said former RNC Chairman Richard Bond.

Obama and Edwards don’t need to match Clinton’s pace to stay competitive, said Clyde Wilcox, a government professor at Georgetown University.

“All you really need is enough money to reach the voters,” Wilcox said. “Hillary is not inevitable.”