By Edward Linsmier, Getty ImagesMitt Romney campaigns in St. Petersburg, Fla., on Wednesday.
By Edward Linsmier, Getty ImagesMitt Romney campaigns in St. Petersburg, Fla., on Wednesday.
By comparison, President Obama and the Democratic National Committee raised $43.6 million in April. Both candidates share their fundraising with the national party and state committees."Voters are tired of President Obama's broken promises," Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairman Reince Priebus said in a statement released by the Romney campaign. "Mitt Romney has the record and plan to turn our country around - that is why he is receiving such enthusiastic support from voters across the country."The campaign says there is $61.4 million in the bank. Nearly all — 95% — of the contributions last month came in chunks of $250 or less."We are pleased with the strong support we have received from Americans across the country who are looking for new leadership in the White House," Romney Victory National Finance Chairman Spencer Zwick said in a statement. "Along with the hard work of the Republican National Committee, we will continue to raise the funds necessary to defeat President Obama in November."
Romney began jointly raising money for the fall campaign with the RNC and various state party committees only last month when it became clear he would become the Republican presidential nominee. Their goal is to raise $800 million for the general election.How much was raised by each entity will be clearer this weekend. Candidates must file financial reports to the Federal Election Commission by midnight Sunday.Romney spent $78.6 million during the primary, more than double his nearest competitor on the Republican side.The Romney campaign's fundraising has increased steadily the closer he has inched to the nomination. In January, the campaign raised $6.4 million. By February, that number was $11.6 million, followed by $12.7 million more in March.Those numbers do not include the tens of millions of dollars raised and spent by pro-Romney super PACs during the primary campaign.One group, Restore Our Future, launched several blistering attacks on the former Massachusetts governor's rivals during critical early contests, drawing loud complaints from those candidates on the receiving end.Other outside groups have pledged to raise millions to help Republicans win the White House. Crossroad GPS, a super PAC affiliated with Republican strategist Karl Rove, announced this week it was starting a $25 million ad campaign against Obama in key states.Crossroads GPS said it will first spend $8 million to air an ad titled "Obama's Promise" in 10 battleground states. The ad started airing Thursday and will run through May 31.For more information about reprints & permissions, visit our FAQ's. To report corrections and clarifications, contact Standards Editor Brent Jones. For publication consideration in the newspaper, send comments to letters@usatoday.com. Include name, phone number, city and state for verification. To view our corrections, go to corrections.usatoday.com. 