WASHINGTON -- Sen. John McCain raised $11 million in February and ended it with $8 million in the bank, according to a new report filed with the Federal Election Commission.

The Republican presidential nominee-in-waiting also had $4.3 million in debt, mostly for a loan that has become the focus of a stalemate between his campaign and the FEC.

The $11 million total marked a second month of solid fundraising for McCain, but it still lagged significantly behind the prodigious amounts raised by Democrats Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton. Both had not yet filed their February reports, but Obama has said he raised $55 million and Clinton has said she raised $35 million for the month.

The reports were due at midnight Thursday.

McCain has now spent $58.4 million in his primary bid, surpassing the $50 million limit he would have faced if he participated in the public financing system he had been certified to join. McCain has decided not to accept the public matching funds, but the FEC wants him to assure regulators that he did not use the promise of public money as collateral for a $4 million loan.

McCain and his lawyers said the loan was secured with other collateral, thus freeing him to spend as much money as he wishes on his primary campaign. The Democratic National Committee has filed a complaint with the FEC arguing McCain cannot withdraw from the public finance system without FEC approval.

One-time presidential candidates also filed campaign finance reports Thursday, offering a glimpse into their final days of campaigning or xx house cleaning.

Mike Huckabee, who ended his Republican campaign March 4, reported raising $3 million in February. He spent $3.3 million during the month, half of it on television advertising and charter air travel even as John McCain appeared to be the certain Republican winner.

The former Arkansas governor operated with a bare-bones staff, maintaining a $125,000 total payroll for the month. But aides managed to stay in touch -- the campaign spent $1,500 on Blackberry rental and service charges.

John Edwards, who dropped out of the Democratic contest Jan. 30, paid back a $3 million loan with his share of public matching funds in February. He reported $5 million cash on hand at the end of the period and $6 million in debts, which are secured by public funds that Edwards is still owed. Edwards, one of seven presidential candidates certified to receive public matching funds, was entitled to $8.8 million in federal money.

Rudy Giuliani, who exited after failing to win the Florida Republican primary Jan. 29, ended February with $4 million in the bank and $3 million in debts. He spent the month refunding contributions to donors who had given money for the general election. Overall, Giuliani returned more than $3 million. The former New York mayor once led in national polls for the Republican presidential nomination, but bet his campaign on Florida only to lose to McCain.

Republican Ron Paul continued to raise money in February, but his pace slowed from the high water mark he set in the fourth quarter of 2007. Paul reported $1.7 million in donations in February, with $5.6 million cash on hand. The Texas Republican congressman posted a 7 1/2-minute video on his campaign Web site earlier this month that signaled that he was easing out of the race. But he vowed to continue the grass-roots movement that generated millions of dollars for his campaign.

"Though victory in the conventional political sense is not available in the presidential race, many victories have been achieved due to your hard work and enthusiasm," he told supporters in his Web video March 6.

Ralph Nader, who announced a third-party presidential candidacy last month, reported raising $280,000 from contributors in February. He personally donated $40,200 to his campaign and had $280,000 cash on hand at the beginning of March.