Obama & Romney Hitting Fundraisers Hard
WASHINGTON (CBSMiami) – Faced with the prospect of unlimited cash from outside parties tipping an election, President Barack Obama and his Republican challenger Mitt Romney have pivoted to the fundraising trail in a big way.
President Obama raised $53 million for his campaign, the Democratic Party, and other campaign funds in March. Since the start of his campaign, Obama has collected roughly $350 million, with $127 million of that being raised since January 2012.
The Republican National Committee said it raised roughly $13.7 million in March and has $32.7 million in the bank. Romney had raised roughly $75 million through the end of February and had $7.2 million in cash in the bank.
President Obama has roughly $84.7 million in cash available through the end of February. The vast difference in the cash in hand comes from Romney having to spend millions just to secure the nomination from the GOP.
Both candidates will have to fundraise in totals never before seen heading into the summer for the general election. Both will want to win the swing states and Florida is going to again be a key swing state for the eventual victor.
In order to run a successful media campaign in Florida, it will take tens of millions of dollars. So far, neither campaign has started large-scale purchases of air time for the general election. But as each month passes, Floridians can expect to be inundated with campaign ads ahead of November.
(TM and © Copyright 2012 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2012 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
