Lobbyists Keep Giving

February fundraising reports from the presidential candidates show that lobbyists are still donating big bucks to their campaigns.

Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) easily kept her status as the candidate who has received the most from lobbyists during the 2008 election cycle, according to data posted by the Center for Responsive Politics. She's received $880,790 from the industry, a roughly $67,000 increase over year-end totals. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), the presumptive Republican nominee, had a bigger jump: his total donations from lobbyists now total $584,652, compared to $416,321 at year-end.

Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), who has refused contributions from federal lobbyists, lags on this list - he's ninth, after presidential dropouts such as Rudy Giuliani and Bill Richardson, among others. Still, his total is $114,713, up from $86,283 at year-end.

The center includes federal, state and local lobbyists in their analysis, as well as family members with no separate means of income and people who work for lobbying firms but may not be registered lobbyists. It excludes people who work as in-house lobbyists for corporations classified in other sectors.