US presidential candidates Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain spent US$94 million in August, as their race entered the home stretch, the US News and World Report said yesterday.

Most of the spending went to advertising, and the rate is US$1.5 million a day.

Overall, Obama outspent McCain, with the Obama campaign spending US$53 million that month, US$32 million of which went to advertising.

That compared with the US$41 million spent by the McCain campaign, US$23 million of which went to advertising.

New figures show that Obama and the Democratic National Committee started this month with US$95 million in the bank, compared with a war chest of US$94 million for McCain and the Republican National Committee.

The latest Gallup daily presidential tracking poll shows Obama leading McCain 48 percent to 44 percent.