WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama's presidential campaign spent more than it raised in June, illustrating both the fierce pace of campaigning during the month and his slightly weaker fundraising position, finance reports filed Friday show.
In a month when Obama was trying to answer a heavy barrage of advertising by independent groups supporting rival Mitt Romney, his campaign spent $38.2 million buying television advertising time. Romney spent less than a third of that — $10.4 million — on TV time.
Obama's campaign listed receipts of $46 million in June and total spending of $58 million. The campaign, however, also listed more than $97.5 million in the bank going into July. The Democratic National Committee, which is operating closely with the campaign, reported $37.5 million in the bank.
Republican rival Mitt Romney reported receipts of $33 million and spending of $27.5 million for June. The challenger's cash on hand was almost a mirror image of Obama's and the DNC's. Romney reported $22.5 million in the bank and the Republican National Committee said it had $89.4 million.
Obama also released a new list of big-dollar fundraisers, or "bundlers," who have collected at least $50,000 toward his re-election. Obama named 638 bundlers, adding 106 more to his total earlier this year. Romney does not list his bundlers
Romney's combined fundraising with his party has outpaced Obama's and the Democratic Party's for the past two months. But the reports show that Obama and the DNC retained a slightly bigger cash-on-hand cushion going into July than Romney and the RNC.
Romney retains a vast advantage overall when super PACs that support him are factored in.
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