Sharpton has $114,456 for '04 bid

WASHINGTON -- Democratic presidential hopeful Al Sharpton raised $114,456 for his campaign from January through March, putting him near the bottom in the race for early money.

Sharpton filed a report with the Federal Election Commission on Monday, about two weeks after eight other Democratic hopefuls filed their reports.

The deadline was April 15, but Sharpton had maintained that he was merely testing the waters for a possible bid and didn't have to file a report.

Sharpton decided to detail his finances to the FEC after drawing criticism from campaign finance watchdog groups who argued his activities had crossed the line into campaigning.

Sharpton's fund-raising total put him near the bottom in the early money chase. Only former Illinois Sen. Carol Moseley Braun raised less, collecting $72,450 in the first quarter. Sen. John Edwards raised the most: $7.4 million.

Sharpton reported $54,480 in spending during the period.