Obama fundraising machine at full steam
By DAVE LEVINTHAL and TARINI PARTI | 9/20/12 9:34 PM EDT
Barack Obama’s fundraising machine is operating at full steam.
Obama for America, the president’s campaign committee, raised $84.7 million in August — $35 million more than it did in July, federal campaign finance reports released Thursday night show.
The campaign spent $83.7 million — mostly on media consulting, production and buys ($66.3 million), online advertising ($2.5 million), payroll ($3.1 million) and travel ($2 million) — and ended the month with almost $89 million in reserve. That easily eclipses the $50 million that Mitt Romney’s campaign committee reported in the bank through August.
The Romney campaign raised about $67 million and spent about $66 million, meaning Obama for America beat it in both categories — a notable turnaround from the past several months, when Romney was largely generating more campaign cash.
The figures for both candidates don’t include money they raised in conjunction with national party committees. In this realm, the Romney campaign enjoyed a greater measure of success in August, although Obama’s fundraising apparatus still won a narrow financial victory — $114 million to $111.6 million.
More than $25 million of Obama for America’s August contributions came in the form of “unitemized” donations from small donors — contributions of $200 or less.
That obliterated the Romney campaign’s total, which stood at $9.4 million for the month. And it serves to bolster the Obama campaign’s assertion that its greatest strength is its grassroots support — people who may not boast unbridled riches but will boost the campaign however they’re able.
Obama campaign spokeswoman Katie Hogan said its August report was 170,000 pages long — up from 90,000 pages in July — and helps account for “three million donors who show that the grassroots continue to be the backbone of this campaign.”
Nevertheless, outside groups such as super PACs and politically active nonprofits have helped Romney significantly more than Obama.
This trend continued through August, federal filings show, with the main pro-Romney super PAC Restore Our Future spending more than $21 million, primarily on ads attacking Obama.
Comparatively, the main pro-Obama super PAC, Priorities USA Action, spent about $9.5 million, although it raised more money than its counterpart for the first time during any month this election cycle.
Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0912/81487.html#ixzz276CsK0eg
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