By Mosheh Oinounou

John McCain broke a personal record in May -- raising $22 million.

That tops his most recent record in April, when he raised about $18 million. The May total means he has raised more than $110 million since the start of his campaign last year -- but that that is still less than half of the nearly $260 million Barack Obama raised through April 30.

McCain finished April with about $22 million in cash and no word yet on how much he ended May with, but campaign advisers say they have spent cautiously in the last 30 days and have more than enough to go toe to toe with Obama through the summer.

Campaign officials tout that they are in position to make major TV ad buys during the next few months. The McCain campaign is also very successful in making use of free media.

Despite dealing with a coverage gap as the Democratic primary went on for three months after McCain clinched the Republican delegates needed to win the nomination, the campaign is now looking forward to renewed attention by the press. This began with a Tuesday night speech in Louisiana and a challenge to Obama on Wednesday to hold joint town hall meetings.

Additionally, McCain advisers repeatedly say that they don't need to compete dollar for dollar with Obama, pointing out that he won his primary with less cash than his Republican competitors, and Obama lost eight of the last 14 Democratic primaries despite greatly outspending Hillary Clinton.

McCain's $22 million May figure accounts only for the McCain campaign and not the Republican National Committee's take. It has tripled to quadrupled Democratic National Committee fundraising so far this year.

The RNC finished April with $36 million more ($40 vs. $4 million) in the bank than the DNC. Numbers aren't out yet on either organization's May draw.

McCain campaign advisers add that one of the most advantageous aspects of their three month head start was the ability to get their fundraising house in order and build up their campaign war chest.

Full May fundraising figures will be released later this month when Federal Election Commission filings go public.