President Barack Obama’s re-
election committee had 10 times the money of former
Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney’s campaign entering April,
Federal Election Commission reports show.
Obama reported a bank balance of $104.1 million after
raising $35.1 million in March. That included $7.5 million
transferred from a joint fundraising account with the Democratic
National Committee. Romney finished March with $10.1 million to
spend after raising $13.1 million during the month, his best in
the campaign.
Through March 31, Obama raised $196.6 million for his re-
election, more than twice as much as the cumulative $88.7
million collected by Romney’s campaign.
Obama, as he did in his 2008 campaign, relied heavily on
small-dollar donors. Last month, 52 percent of the money going
directly to his campaign committee came in amounts of $200 or
less. Romney collected 13 percent of his money in those amounts.
The president also increased his large-dollar fundraising.
He identified 117 people who brought in at least $500,000 for
his re-election, up from 61 at the end of 2011.
Those newly identified as raising more than $500,000 for
the campaign include Laura Ricketts, co-owner of the Chicago
Cubs and the first openly gay owner of a major league sports
team; Stewart Bainum, chairman of Silver Spring, Maryland-based
Choice Hotels International Inc. (CHH); and Michael Sacks, chief
executive officer of Chicago-based Grosvenor Capital Management.
Naming Bundlers
Obama is the only candidate identifying all of his
bundlers, supporters who tap their own networks to raise money.
Romney disclosed just two, lobbyists Paul Mattera of Liberty
Mutual Group Inc. and Joseph Wall of Goldman Sachs Group Inc. By
law, candidates must identify lobbyists raising money for them.
Romney became the presumptive Republican nominee with the
April 10 departure from the race of his chief rival for the
nomination, former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum. Former
U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich and U.S. Representative Ron Paul of Texas remain as Republican candidates.
“Mitt Romney’s continued strong fundraising shows that
voters across the country are tired of the failures from
President Obama,” said Romney’s national finance chairman,
Spencer Zwick, in a statement. “We will continue the hard work
to raise the necessary funds to defeat President Obama and
change the direction of the country.”
Super-PAC Cash
A political action committee backing Romney, Restore Our
Future, took in $8.7 million last month and had $6.5 million
left to spend. Harold Simmons, chairman of Dallas-based Contran
Corp., gave $600,000; he gave $200,000 earlier this year.
The pro-Obama PAC Priorities USA Action raised $2.5
million, even after the president in February began urging
supporters to contribute. Top donors included $1 million from
writer Amy P. Goldman, who gave $1 million; comedian Chelsea Handler, who donated $100,000; and longtime Democratic giver
Bernard L. Schwartz, chief executive officer of BLS Investments,
who also donated $100,000. The PAC ended the month with $5
million in the bank.
Santorum raised $5 million last month, bringing his total
to $20.7 million. He had $1.8 million in the bank and reported
debts of $2 million, including $760,009 for media to John Brabender, his senior adviser, and $483,237 for online services
and ads.
Gingrich took in $1.7 million, and finished the month with
$1.2 million in the bank. He has now raised $22.6 million for
his campaign. He had $4.3 million in debts, almost triple what
he reported owing a month earlier. His debts included $271,776
to himself for travel expenses and $1.1 million to the air-
charter company Moby Dick Airways.
Paul raised $2.6 million last month, bringing his total to
$37 million. He had $1.8 million in the bank at the end of
March. He received 37 percent of his donations last month in
amounts of $200 or less.
To contact the reporters on this story:
Jonathan D. Salant in Washington at
jsalant@bloomberg.net;
Greg Giroux in Washington at
ggiroux@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Jeanne Cummings at jcummings21@bloomberg.net.
Enlarge image
Romney Raised $12.6 Million in March, Best Fundraising Month
Mitt Romney at a campaign rally held at the closed National Gypsum drywall factory in Lorain, Ohio, on April 19, 2012.
Mitt Romney at a campaign rally held at the closed National Gypsum drywall factory in Lorain, Ohio, on April 19, 2012. Photographer: Jae C. Hong/AP Photo
April 20 (Bloomberg) -- Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell talks with Bloomberg's Al Hunt about the state's economy, the policies of President Barack Obama and Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, and the need to change immigration rules.
Bloomberg's Hans Nichols and Julie Davis discuss Obama's and Romney's campaign strategies and the Secret Service prostitution scandal. Commentators Kate O'Beirne and Margaret Carlson talk about Defense Secretary Leon Panetta's spending on travel, and Romney's Republican support. (Source: Bloomberg)