REPUBLICAN MITT ROMNEY raked in $106 million (€86 million) in June, his team announced today, trouncing President Barack Obama by $35 million (€28 million) and asserting a second straight month of campaign fundraising dominance.
Romney and the Republican National Committee now have $160 million (€130 million) in cash on hand, the campaign said, as the candidate gears up for a fierce four-month White House battle against Obama.
The $106.1-million haul last month by Romney and the RNC is a record for 2012 and well above the $71 million announced by Obama’s re-election campaign, which was the president’s best result of the year, topping the $60 million he raised in May.
“But we still got beat – and not by a little bit,” Ann Marie Habershaw, chief operating officer for Obama’s re-election campaign, said in an email soliciting new donations.
“Romney and Republicans raised more than $106 million, not even including money to pro-Romney super PACs,” she said, referring to the independent political action committees which can raise and spend unlimited funds to support candidates, although they cannot directly fund a campaign.
“If we lose this election, it will be because we didn’t close the gap enough when we had the chance,” Habershaw added.
Obama lags behind Romney when it comes to super PACs. Wealthy conservatives are said to be funneling huge sums into such outside groups that support Romney’s agenda.
May was the first full month in which Romney emerged as the clear winner of a grueling Republican primary race, paving the way for him to step clear of party rivals and out-raise Democratic Obama for the first time.
Obama received donations from 706,000 individual donors in June, while Romney received funds from about 560,000 individual donors.
June’s figures were significant for Romney in part because they showed a dramatic increase in grass-roots donations, turf that Obama has broadly dominated.
Romney received more than 536,000 donations of less than $250 in last month, compared to 297,000 donations under $250 in May.
“This month’s fundraising is a statement from voters that they want a change of direction in Washington,” Romney Victory finance chairman Spencer Zwick said in a statement announcing the June numbers.
Romney, who holds a campaign rally Tuesday in Colorado, is reportedly holding fundraisers in the tony resort town of Aspen on Monday night.
Despite the fundraising advantage, Romney’s team has insisted it is Obama who is currently spending more on getting out his message.
In a memo dated Sunday, the Romney campaign said it has been outspent $46.2 million to $17.0 million on advertising since Romney won the Republican primary race in April.
That figure however does not include the money spent by super PACs on advertising.
The pro-Romney issues advocacy group Crossroads GPS announced Friday it had purchased a $25 million ad blitz in nine battleground states to attack Obama’s record on jobs and the national debt.
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