Mitt Romney’s campaign announced yesterday that it had raised $101.3 million in campaign donations in July, out-raising the Obama campaign by more than $25 million.
It's the third month in row that the presumptive GOP nominee has out-raised President Obama. Relying heavily on big donors, the Romney campaign, the Republican National Committee (RNC) and state Republican parties also had $185.9 million left in cash on hand at the end of last month.
Overall however Obama and the Democrats are ahead in the race for cash, having raised about $627 million to date compared with the $495 million raised by Romney and the Republicans.
However Romney's July fundraising haul, a joint effort between the Romney campaign and the RNC, marks the second month that they have passed the $100 million mark and raises the concern for Obama's reelection team, who raised $75 million in July, that they could be outpaced by the GOP’s fundraising push.
According to The Hill, the Obama campaign tweeted on Monday that than 200,000 supporters who gave in July were 'entirely new donors who didn’t give before in this election cycle or in 2008.'
'Every bit helps,' the president’s feed said. '98% of our contributions in July were $250 or less, for an average donation of $53.49.'
Meanwhile Romney out-raised Obama by more than $35 million in June and May. RNC Chairman Reince Priebus told the press on Monday that the figures were a sign that Romney's campaign was resonating with voters. More than 94 percent of all donations received last month were for $250 or less, the Romney campaign announced. Those 600,627 contributions totaled $25.7 million of the haul.
Fighting back the Obama has scheduled a series of high-dollar events in the coming weeks and the president has added additional fundraising events to his schedule.
The president attended two fundraisers in Connecticut last night, one hosted by movie executive Harvey Weinstein and the other by Vogue editor Anna Wintour, that are expected to bring in an estimated $2 million for his reelection bid. Among the guests who attended at Weinstein’s home on Monday evening were actress Anne Hathaway and screenwriter and producer Aaron Sorkin.
Last week the president attended a fundraising dinner in New York City with 60 donors who contributed $40,000 each. Obama has also held many high-profile events on the West Coast, where the campaign hopes supporters in the entertainment industry and Silicon Valley will help close the fundraising gap.
Romney's July haul was significantly boosted by a series of high-dollar events among some of the richest people in the nation. Among signature events the candidate held high society fund raisers in the exclusive Hamptons and also during his recent three-country overseas trip.
The far right billionaire Koch brothers hosted an event for Romney on Long Island in July that reportedly raised more than $3 million. Romney also held campaign fundraisers in Britain and Israel, inviting Israeli donors to a private breakfast in Jerusalem where he reportedly netted more than $1 million. Romney also held a London fundraising event that raised $2 million.
The breakfast in Jerusalem was attended by casino mogul and Sheldon Adelson, who has donated at least $10 million to the Romney political action committee.
Adelson has reportedly called on Romney to state publicly that Israeli-Palestinian peace talks are a waste of time because the Palestinians are unwilling to make peace. Adelson is also seeking a firmer commitment from Romney to move the U.S. Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, in a move that would represent a de facto recognition of Israel’s annexation of East Jerusalem.
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