Romney, GOP out-raise Obama, Dems in 2nd straight month

Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney and the Republican Party raised $106 million last month, more than the $71 million announced today by President Barack Obama and his allied Democratic committees.

It was the second straight month that Romney and Republican Party committees raised more money than Obama and the Democrats.

Neither campaign broke down its fundraising between the candidate and the party committees, which can take in contributions more than 10 times greater. Through May 31, Obama’s re-election committee has taken in more money than Romney’s, and the Democratic National Committee has outpaced its Republican counterpart.

The Romney campaign and the Republican National Committee have about $160 million cash on hand, according to a news release. An Obama campaign official didn’t provide a similar figure and said the June fundraising numbers were released through an e-mail to supporters. Candidate and party reports are due at the Federal Election Commission by July 20.

“This month’s fundraising is a statement from voters that they want a change of direction in Washington,” Spencer Zwick, Romney’s national finance chairman, said in a statement. “In the months to come, these resources will be crucial to highlighting the difference between President Obama’s broken promises and Mitt Romney’s plan to get America on the right track again.”

Privately Funded
Romney, like Obama, is raising money for the period before the nominating conventions as well as the general election, making 2012 the first presidential race in 40 years to be funded entirely with private contributions.

Romney’s campaign and his allied Republican committees said they raised $77 million in May, compared with $60 million raised by Obama, 50, and the Democratic Party. The Romney campaign committee itself raised $23.4 million, while Obama’s campaign brought in $39.1 million, FEC reports showed.

Romney, 65, a former Massachusetts governor and onetime private-equity executive, has a series of fundraisers planned this week, including in Colorado and Wyoming. One of the events will be at the home of former Vice President Dick Cheney.