Obama campaign spends more in May than it raises

WASHINGTON – Fighting to keep his job, President Obama spent more money than he raised in May, and ended the month with $109.7 million in cash reserves — a more than 6-to-1 advantage over his Republican rival Mitt Romney, federal reports filed Wednesday show.

By Carolyn Kaster, AP

The campaign of President Obama, who attended Tuesday's G-20 summit in Mexico, raised $39.1 million in May.

By Carolyn Kaster, AP

The campaign of President Obama, who attended Tuesday's G-20 summit in Mexico, raised $39.1 million in May.

Obama, who has been able to accumulate cash as Romney fended off primary challengers, spent three times more in May than he did in April, reflecting new investments in staff — a total of 703 campaign workers in May, up from 631 a month earlier — and the barrage of television commercials in battleground states that have touted his record and slammed presumptive GOP nominee Romney's business career.

Nearly half of the contributions to Obama's main campaign account last month came from donors who gave $200 or less, contributors he will need to tap again as he tries to match Romney's fundraising, which surged ahead of Obama's last month for the first time. A quarter of Romney's May donations came in small amounts.

Romney and the Republican Party reported collecting $76.8 million in May, nearly $17 million more than Obama and the Democratic National Committee. The bulk of that, however, went to party and joint fundraising committees. Romney's campaign raised $23.4 million, records show, while Obama's raised $39.1 million.

The Republican National Committee, now an extension of Romney's campaign, ended May with $60.8 million in the bank — cash reserves that it can deploy to help build a get-out-the-vote for the former Massachusetts governor. That's twice the amount of cash reserves held by the DNC.

By Evan Vucci, AP

Mitt Romney's campaign raised $23.4 million in May.

Obama campaign officials have raised the specter of being outspent by Romney and his supporters, as wealthy Republicans continue to write big checks to conservative super PACs and non-profit advocacy groups.

Restore Our Future, a super PAC helping Romney, took in nearly $5 million in May, besting the $4 million that a pro-Obama group, Priorities USA Action, said it collected last month.

Roughly $1 out of every $5 Restore Our Future collected in May came from three Dayton companies that share an address. The three Ohio firms — CRC Information Systems Inc., Fairbanks Properties, LLC and Waterbury Properties, LLC — share a post office box with Reynolds and Reynolds, a Dayton company that provides services to auto dealers, federal records and company websites show.

Reynolds and Reynolds CEO Robert Brockman donated $5,000 to Romney's campaign in April, federal records show. Brockman did not return a telephone call Wednesday afternoon.

The $1 million in contributions from the three Ohio firms underscore the ability of wealthy donors to contribute large sums to influence the election. Recent court rulings and federal regulations have created a two, parallel campaign-finance systems - one in which individual donors can give no more than $5,000 directly to a candidate for the primary and general election, and another that allows donors to pump millions of dollars from their corporate treasuries into super PACs and non-profit groups that can raise and spend unlimited amounts to influence the election.

Other large donors to Restore Our Future include Frank VanderSloot, an Idaho businessman singled out recently by Obama's campaign after his company donated $1 million to the super PAC. VanderSloot, cast as a victim of harassment by conservatives, gave another $100,000 to the super PAC in May.

Executives at The Villages, a Florida retirement community, gave more than $400,000 last month to the pro-Romney group.

The reports offered signs that more Republicans are rallying around Romney since he has clinched the nomination. For example, Trevor Rees-Jones, a Dallas oil and gas executive who gave $100,000 last year to a super PAC aiding Texas Gov. Rick Perry's failed presidential bid, opted to donate $100,000 to the pro-Romney super PAC May 8, records show. He did not return telephone calls.

Billionaire casino executive Sheldon Adelson reportedly has donated $10 million to Restore Our Future, but that contribution has not yet been disclosed in filings with the Federal Election Commission.

Among political groups targeting congressional races:

•A super PAC established by Houston construction company owner Leo Linbeck III spent $642,181 last month to defeat incumbent congressmen in party primaries. The lion's share of the Campaign for Primary Accountability's war chest comes from Linbeck himself, who contributed $260,000 last month to bring his total contributions to $740,000. He has also loaned the super PAC $390,000.

The super PAC has taken credit for unseating a number of incumbents already, including Reps. Tim Holden, D-Pa.; Don Manzullo, R-Ill.; Silvestre Reyes, D-Texas; and Jean Schmidt, R-Ohio.

•FreedomWorks for America, a Tea Party-affiliated super PAC that spent more than $777,000 this year to oppose Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch and May with $1.2 million in cash, ahead of a June 26 GOP primary that pits Hatch, a 36-year incumbent against former state senator Dan Liljenquist.

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Romney Raises More Than Obama in May

1:09 a.m. | Updated The revised version of this post is available here.

Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign shot past President Obama’s in fund-raising in May, collecting more than $76.8 million — nearly $17 million more than his rival.

The Republican fund-raising haul — the first full month that Mr. Romney and the Republican National Committee were in partnership — was nearly double what was collected the prior month.

And it easily topped Mr. Obama’s fund-raising in May. The president’s campaign announced on Thursday that its joint fund-raising operation with the Democratic National Committee had raised $60 million.

A statement from Mr. Romney’s campaign said the campaign and the Republican National Committee ended May with $107 million in cash.

“It is clear that people aren’t willing to buy into ‘hope & change’ again,” said Spencer Zwick, Mr. Romney’s national finance chairman. “Voters are making an investment because they believe that it will benefit the country.”

The surge in fund-raising for Mr. Romney came even as he clinched the delegates necessary to become the Republican nominee — a green light for Republican donors who might have been on the sidelines throughout the primary process. It also paved the way for the Republican National Committee to link its operations and fund-raising efforts with the Romney campaign.

Aides to Mr. Obama said they were not especially worried because they had expected Mr. Romney to have a good fund-raising month. They said some Republican donors likely gave the maximum they could in May and will not be able to give again in the coming months.

But the financial comparisons underscores the concern that Mr. Obama’s campaign has expressed to supporters over the past several months about the need for stepped-up financial contributions.

Democrats have warned that despite the president’s fund-raising prowess, he could be outspent during the upcoming months as Mr. Romney’s spending is supplemented by historic levels of fund-raising by outside political groups, particularly “super PACs.”

Mr. Obama’s campaign announced his total on Twitter Thursday morning, saying that the average donation was just more than $50. The $60 million includes money raised directly by his campaign and by the Democratic National Committee.

“The campaign raised more than $60 million across committees in May,” the president said. “Thanks to everyone who chipped in.”

The campaign and the Democratic committee raised $43.6 million in April, about the same amount as Mitt Romney raised that month.

The announcement by Mr. Obama comes two days after Republicans succeeded in beating back the recall of Scott Walker, the governor of Wisconsin, who had a big lead over his opponent in campaign cash.

Mr. Obama held a fund-raiser with Hollywood celebrities, including the actor George Clooney, in early May, just after he announced his support for same-sex marriage. The event reportedly raised $15 million for Mr. Obama’s campaign.

Democrats had worried whether Mr. Obama’s public support for the issue would cost him support in important swing states like Virginia and North Carolina. But the decision was hailed by supporters of Mr. Obama’s in the gay community, and it appears to have bolstered fund-raising for the president among wealthy members of that group.

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Study: Romney plan raises taxes on poor families (AP)

WASHINGTON – Republican Mitt Romney's tax plan would increase taxes on low-income families while cutting taxes for the middle-class and the rich, according to an independent study released Thursday.

On average, households making less than $20,000 would see their taxes increase by more than 60 percent, said the Tax Policy Center, a Washington research group that studied the Romney plan.

Households making between $50,000 and $75,000 would get small tax cuts, averaging 2.2 percent, or about $250, the study said. People making more than $1 million would get tax cuts averaging 15 percent, or about $146,000.

"Virtually everybody with a big income is getting a tax cut," said Roberton Williams, a senior fellow at the Tax Policy Center.

Overall, Romney's plan would reduce tax revenues by $180 billion in 2015, adding to the federal budget deficit, the study said. Romney's campaign disputes the estimate, saying tax cuts in the plan would help improve the economy, leading to more revenue.

Fresh off a slim victory in the Iowa caucuses, Romney is the front-runner for the GOP nomination for president. His tax plan is less sweeping than those proposed by some of his rivals. He says he will push for "a fundamental redesign of our system." But initially, his plan maintains the current tax rates while cutting corporate taxes and reducing taxes on investments.

Romney's plan would cut the top corporate tax rate form 35 percent to 25 percent, eliminate investment taxes for the middle class and make permanent a massive package of tax cuts first enacted under President George W. Bush.

Romney would also repeal tax increases on the wealthy that were enacted as part of President Barack Obama's health care package. His plan, however, would allow some tax cuts enacted under Obama to expire.

The Obama tax cuts, first enacted as part of the massive economic stimulus package passed in 2009, targeted low-income families with children, including many people who don't make enough money to pay any federal income taxes. They included an expanded tax credit for college students, a more generous Earned Income Tax Credit for families with three or more children, and a more generous child tax credit for low-income families.

Like the Bush tax cuts, the Obama tax cuts are scheduled to expire at the end of the year. Romney's campaign says letting the Obama tax cuts expire doesn't amount to a tax increase.

"Mitt Romney has not proposed raising taxes. In fact, he laid out a blueprint for governing that includes dramatic spending cuts to reduce the deficit and pro-growth tax policies that permanently extend the Bush tax cuts, dramatically cut the corporate tax rate to create jobs, and deliver real tax relief to middle-income taxpayers," campaign spokeswoman Andrea Saul said.

Other GOP candidates have called for more sweeping tax plans. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and Texas Gov. Rick Perry have both called for versions of the flat tax, in which all income is taxed at the same rate. Former Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania has called for reducing the number of tax brackets from six to two.

Previous studies by the Tax Policy Center have found that plans by Gingrich and Perry would result in big tax cuts for the wealthy, reducing tax revenue by billions each year. The center has not yet done a comprehensive analysis of Santorum's plan, though Williams said one is planned.

The Tax Policy Center is a research group formed by two Washington think tanks, the Urban Institute and the Brookings Institution. Its researchers regularly testify before Congress on tax policy and its analyses during the 2008 presidential campaign were widely circulated.

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Boehner reportedly raises $29 million for Republicans (The Ticket)

(Photo of Boehner: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Fundraising in the 2012 GOP presidential race may have gotten off to a slow start, but that's not the case for the cash-collecting work of House Speaker John Boehner.

Sources close to Boehner tell The Hill's Michael O'Brien the top House Republican has raised more than $29 million so far this year. Of that total, $12 million went to his various fund-raising committees, including his leadership PAC. The rest he raised for individual GOP candidates and party committees.

By comparison, Boehner raised $50 million over the entire course of the 2010 election, when Republicans were fighting to regain majority control of the House.

Boehner's enormous fundraising haul comes as Republicans prepare for what could be a bruising 2012 campaign.

It's probably not a coincidence that aides to the House speaker are leaking out how much Boehner is doing to financially boost the party. As he continues to attempt to negotiate a deal with the White House over the debt limit, Boehner is facing a rebellion within his own ranks over how to reduce the federal deficit.

As the New York Times' Carl Hulse reports, Boehner has reportedly signaled his willingness to generate new revenues though an overhaul of the tax code. But other House Republicans have rejected that proposal, saying that it could prompt tax increases. Meanwhile, a significant portion of the House GOP caucus simply won't vote to raise the debt limit, no matter how strongly Boehner lobbies them.

If a budget deal is to be struck, Boehner must convince at least two-thirds of his caucus to support him--hence the reminder of how much the speaker has done to help them in their bids for re-election.

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Romney raises $18 million for White House bid (Reuters)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney raised more than $18 million over the last three months, a total that dwarfed his Republican rivals but lagged some predictions.

Romney's second-quarter fundraising reinforced the former Massachusetts governor's role as early Republican front-runner. But it also raised questions about voter enthusiasm for the party's current field of White House hopefuls.

The Romney campaign said on Wednesday the $18.25 million came from all 50 states and the District of Columbia and represented primary donations, not funds for a prospective general election battle against Democratic incumbent President Barack Obama.

Some advisers and analysts had speculated that Romney could raise $30 million or more in the second quarter. Republicans said the sputtering economic recovery may be dampening giving.

"Part of it is the economy. People have less money to give on things like this," said Romney fundraiser Lee Cowen.

A pillar of Romney's support comes from those on Wall Street, Cowen noted, many of whom he said feel "betrayed" by some of Obama's policies.

More Republican establishment figures are giving to the former governor this election season, he said.

Romney, who mounted an unsuccessful presidential bid in 2008, raised more money -- $23 million -- in the first fundraising quarter of 2007, according to Federal Election Commission records. Four years ago, he was less well known.

Still, those figures included some of his own funds. He did not contribute to his campaign for the second quarter of 2011.

The Romney campaign also said it ended the second quarter with $12.6 million in cash on hand.

The sum was at least four times larger than second-quarter fundraising totals for Romney's closest money race rivals, some of whom have only just entered the contest.

Former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty reported raising $4.2 million last week, while Texas congressman Ron Paul's campaign said he collected about $4.5 million.

Jon Huntsman, the former Utah governor and U.S. ambassador to China, formally entered the race on June 21 and has taken in $4.1 million, according to aides. But just under half of that is his own money.

Both Romney and Huntsman have large personal fortunes.

Minnesota congresswoman Michele Bachmann, a Tea Party favorite and formidable fundraiser, has yet to report her second-quarter takings.

Meanwhile, the Obama campaign's second-quarter goal is to raise $60 million including money from a joint account with the Democratic National Committee.

(Editing by Doina Chiacu)

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Romney raises $15-20 million, leads Republican cash race (Reuters)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney is expected to report raising between $15 million and $20 million in campaign cash for the quarter ending on Thursday, a campaign aide said, a sum that far outpaces rivals.

Romney's dominance in the money race stems from his relentless campaigning and fund-raising since he lost a presidential bid in 2008. In addition, several of his rivals have only just entered the race.

Aides to rival Jon Huntsman, who formally announced his candidacy on June 21, said on Thursday he had taken in about $4 million in recent weeks, with a bit less than half coming from his own pockets.

Romney, a former Massachusetts governor, is the front-runner in the Republican race to replace President Barack Obama in the 2012 election. He leads most polls of party rivals and has more than enough money to stay competitive.

"He is raising money far more quickly than he can spend effectively, especially in Iowa and New Hampshire where retail politics is important," said Georgetown University government professor Clyde Wilcox.

Romney rivals like Huntsman and Tim Pawlenty must raise enough to remain competitive, he said.

"If you don't have enough money, volunteers and fund-raisers may start wandering," he said, adding that "enough" may be a matter of surpassing expectations.

The second-quarter figures have not been officially released for the campaigns.

Some outside experts had predicted Romney would raise between $20 million and $30 million, especially after a one-day haul of $10 million last month.

A senior Romney adviser said the totals are in line with what they planned, but also cited "economic headwinds," which could depress fund-raising.

BACHMANN UP, PAWLENTY DOWN

Meanwhile, Pawlenty is struggling in the polls and being overshadowed by the entry of rising Tea party star Michele Bachmann into the race.

"She's clearly stealing oxygen from him in terms of Iowa," University of Minnesota professor Larry Jacobs said.

Pawlenty's advisers have been trying to downplay expectations since the former Minnesota governor entered the race.

"Our numbers are going to be respectable but it's not going to blow (anything) out of the water," said Ray Washburne, national finance chair for Pawlenty's operations in Texas.

Bachmann, a conservative member of the House of Representatives, is an adroit fundraiser. Her congressional committee out-raised all of her House colleagues during 2010, with a $13.5 million haul.

The campaign to re-elect Obama had a goal of raising $60 million, between the campaign and an account at the Democratic National Committee, in the quarter ending on Thursday.

In addition to Romney's official figures, a new so-called Super political action committee created by former Romney aides is said to have pulled in at least $10 million, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.

These are a new form of political action committee created after a federal court decision last year allowed unlimited contributions from corporations and unions to independent political committees.

(Additional reporting by Steve Holland and Todd Melby; Editing by Xavier Briand)

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GOP candidate Pawlenty raises $4.2M (AP)

WASHINGTON – A campaign aide to Tim Pawlenty says the Republican presidential hopeful raised $4.2 million in the fundraising period that ended Thursday.

Pawlenty spokesman Alex Conant says the former Minnesota governor has more money in the bank than the party's 2008 nominee, John McCain, had at this point. Conant did not disclose the sum, but McCain had $1.4 million.

Pawlenty has been raising money for both a primary and a general election campaign. Aides did not break down how much of his fundraising was for a primary and how much is off-limits unless he is the GOP's nominee.

Rival Mitt Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts, was expected to report $15 million to $20 million for his fundraising quarter. Romney is only raising money for his primary.

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