On track to be the most expensive election in U.S. history, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney and President Barack Obama raked in a total of $177.1 million in fundraising cash, making June the best month in terms of money hauls this election has seen. The cash, however, was not divided equally, with Mitt Romney taking the lead with $106.1 million raised. His campaign announced today this is the largest fundraising haul so far in the 2012 campaign.
He out-raised Obama by $35 million, who despite being the Democratic incumbent, ended the month with $71 million in fundraising cash. In fact, Romney's June campaign fundraising numbers are historically unprecedented, as made evident by this chart from Business Insider:
Romney's finance chief made a statement, categorizing the upward trend in fundraising cash as "a statement from voters that they want a change of direction in Washington."
So where did Romney's $106 million come from? Only $22.3 million of his campaign cash came in donations of $250 or less, meaning the majority of the cash came from a few very large donations. Donations were also fueled by anger towards the recent Supreme Court ruling on health care reform. The Chicago Tribune reports,
Romney's June haul was helped by the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling that upheld Obama's healthcare law - the Romney campaign has said it raised $4.6 million through 47,000 online donations in the 24 hours following the landmark ruling.
President Obama, on the other hand, receives most of his donations in smaller amounts. He tweets "Over 98% of donations to the campaign in June were less than $250, and the average donation was $52.54."
Meanwhile, a worried Obama campaign team reached out to supporters in yet another email push for donations. His campaign message was also posted on his website:
"Well, I've got some good news and some bad news.Good news first: June was our best fundraising month yet. We exceeded expectations—more than 706,000 people like you stepped up and pitched in for a grand total of $71 million raised for this campaign and the Democratic Party.Bravo. That's seriously impressive.Bad news? We still got beat. Handily. Romney and the RNC pulled in a whopping $106 million."
And while the Obama campaign managed to rake in $71 million in campaign fundraising cash, it's still not enough to match his fundraising cash from four years, which was reportedly $74 million for the month of June 2008.
In an effort to keep up, Vice President Joe Biden and wife Dr. Jill Biden will hit the road in their own campaign efforts. VP Joe Biden will attend a campaign event for Senator Claire McCaskill while Dr. Jill Biden travels to Kansas City, Missouri to participate in a roundtable discussion. Later today, she will travel to the South Seattle Community College Hangar, for the latest stop on her “Community College to Career” tour.
Romney will continue his push for campaign funding today in Aspen, Colorado with a reception at the home of William Kunkler and Susan Crown. A seat at the VIP photo reception will cost $10,000 per couple, with general reception costs at $2,500. A private dinner with the Republican nominee could cost donors more than $50,000.
If the candidates keep this up, the 2012 election will likely be the most expensive election in U.S. history, as both campaigns target outside groups with no fundraising limits.