2012 Money Race: Battling For The Bottom Line

President Obama's re-election campaign raised about $21 million in April, while presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney raised nearly $12 million. But the Republican National Committee vastly outraised the Democratic National Committee for the month, which will help Romney offset the difference. The Obama and Romney campaigns are in joint fundraising partnerships with their respective party committees, and can tap into those funds.

  • Q3 2011
  • 2011 Year-End Report
  • January 2012
  • February 2012
  • March 2012
  • April 2012

May 21, 2012

President Obama's re-election campaign raised about $21 million in April, while presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney raised nearly $12 million. But the Republican National Committee vastly outraised the Democratic National Committee for the month, which will help Romney offset the difference. The Obama and Romney campaigns are in joint fundraising partnerships with their respective party committees, and can tap into those funds.

Candidate Contributions* On hand Spent Debt owed
Barack Obama (D) Full Report » $21,177,042* $115,157,433 $14,644,620 $1,200
SuperPAC: Priorities USA Action Supports: Obama | Full Report » $1,583,134 $4,739,513 $1,877,010 $0
Democratic National Committee Full Report » $6,697,646 $24,284,707 $14,539,075 $3,925,070
Obama Victory Fund 2012 Joint Obama-DNC Committee | Full Report » $15,811,007 $4,860,471 $14,696,224 $0
Swing State Victory Fund Full Report » $56,800 $2,844,430 $1,939 $0
Mitt Romney (R) Full Report » $11,449,245 $9,211,335 $12,572,102 $0
SuperPAC: Restore Our Future Supports: Romney | Full Report » $4,607,662 $8,209,745 $2,852,123 $0
Republican National Committee Full Report » $11,438,456 $34,797,272 $9,384,708 $9,900,000
Ron Paul (R) Full Report » $2,044,957 $2,464,997 $1,365,722 $0
SuperPAC: Endorse Liberty Supports: Paul | Full Report » $2,168 $1,827 $54,325 $0
Rick Santorum (R) Full Report » $1,242,029 $1,007,322 $2,047,157 $2,275,458
SuperPAC: Red White & Blue Fund Supports: Santorum | Full Report » $120,042 $323,814 $59,177 $0
Newt Gingrich (R) Full Report » $638,831 $806,951 $1,206,835 $4,777,006
SuperPAC: Winning Our Future Supports: Gingrich | Full Report » $683 $5,629,899 $132,702 $0

Notes

— "Contributions" includes donations from individuals, political committees and candidates themselves. It does not include transfers, loans, offsets and other figures that factor into the campaign's total receipts for a given reporting period.
— Obama fundraising numbers do not include a $4.5 million transfer from the Obama Victory Fund 2012, jointly run by the Obama campaign and the Democratic National Committee.
— Santorum suspended his campaign on April 10, 2012.
— Gingrich suspended his campaign on May 2, 2012.

April 20, 2012

Rick Santorum said a lack of funds helped to force him from the Republican presidential contest on April 10, and Federal Election Commission filings show his campaign nearly $2 million in debt by the end of March. Presumptive GOP nominee Mitt Romney raised more than the previous month, but trailed way behind President Obama's campaign. The pro-Romney superPAC, however, outraised the pro-Obama superPAC by more than three-to-one in March.

Candidate Raised On hand Spent Debt owed
Barack Obama (D) Full Report » $35,080,297 $104,096,194 $15,657,566 $305,168
SuperPAC: Priorities USA Action Supports: Obama | Full Report » $2,505,947 $5,033,389 $318,254 $0
Mitt Romney (R) Full Report » $13,062,261 $10,059,748 $10,275,865 $0
SuperPAC: Restore Our Future Supports: Romney | Full Report » $8,684,410 $6,454,206 $12,722,782 $0
Rick Santorum (R) Full Report » $5,045,101 $1,804,101 $5,839,305 $1,989,929
SuperPAC: Red White & Blue Fund Supports: Santorum | Full Report » $2,581,445 $262,949 $2,683,078 $0
Ron Paul (R) Full Report » $2,631,522 $1,780,774 $2,218,234 $0
SuperPAC: Endorse Liberty Supports: Paul | Full Report » $13,104 $53,984 $114,395 $0
Newt Gingrich (R) Full Report » $1,694,909 $1,227,003 $2,010,937 $4,300,053
SuperPAC: Winning Our Future Supports: Gingrich | Full Report » $5,051,083 $5,761,917 $1,549,882 $0

Notes

— Santorum suspended his campaign on April 10, 2012.

March 20, 2012

Just as in January, Mitt Romney and the superPAC supporting him outspent the rest of the GOP field combined in February, according to Federal Election Commission filings. Romney and the Restore Our Future superPAC spent more than $24 million. Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul and the superPACs supporting them spent $23.4 million.

Interactive Graph: Day-to-day February fundraising

Candidate Raised On hand Spent Debt owed
Barack Obama (D) Full Report » $21,312,005 $84,674,461 $12,590,672 $30,058
SuperPAC: Priorities USA Action Supports: Obama | Full Report » $2,029,793 $2,845,696 $502,708 $0
Mitt Romney (R) Full Report » $11,958,249 $7,273,352 $12,362,526 $0
SuperPAC: Restore Our Future Supports: Romney | Full Report » $6,423,360 $10,492,578 $12,232,044 $0
Rick Santorum (R) Full Report » $9,000,650 $2,598,305 $7,876,409 $922,448
SuperPAC: Red White & Blue Fund Supports: Santorum | Full Report » $2,947,059 $364,582 $3,209,085 $28,087
Newt Gingrich (R) Full Report » $2,629,064 $1,543,032 $2,874,622 $1,550,517
SuperPAC: Winning Our Future Supports: Gingrich | Full Report » $5,741,391 $2,283,216 $5,758,595 $0
Ron Paul (R) Full Report » $3,271,370 $1,367,486 $3,548,698 $0
SuperPAC: Endorse Liberty Supports: Paul | Full Report » $282,467 $206,778 $135,870 $0

February 21, 2012

Mitt Romney's campaign and superPAC combined spent nearly $33 million in January, more than twice what Newt Gingrich and his superPAC spent — and more than six times what Rick Santorum and his superPAC spent. But Santorum raised $4.5 million for the month — more than twice his total 2011 haul.

Interactive Graph: Day-to-day January fundraising

Candidate Raised On hand Spent Debt owed
Barack Obama (D) Full Report » $11,865,906 $75,953,128 $17,673,790 $1,056,688
SuperPAC: Priorities USA Action Supports: Obama | Full Report » $58,816 $1,318,612 $258,026 $0
Mitt Romney (R) Full Report » $6,537,997 $7,677,629 $18,776,494 $0
SuperPAC: Restore Our Future Supports: Romney | Full Report » $6,617,550 $16,301,262 $13,938,398 $0
Newt Gingrich (R) Full Report » $5,587,176 $1,788,590 $5,907,417 $1,726,085
SuperPAC: Winning Our Future Supports: Gingrich | Full Report » $11,027,627 $2,441,350 $9,762,779 $0
Rick Santorum (R) Full Report » $4,513,487 $1,474,064 $3,318,357 $956,701
SuperPAC: Red White & Blue Fund Supports: Santorum | Full Report » $2,087,740 $626,607 $1,539,247 $900
Ron Paul (R) Full Report » $4,481,209 $1,644,815 $5,233,011 $0
SuperPAC: Endorse Liberty Supports: Paul | Full Report » $2,376,942 $60,181 $2,944,592 $0
Jon Huntsman* (R) Full Report » $450,776 $870 $560,871 $5,176,723
SuperPAC: Our Destiny PAC Supports: Huntsman | Full Report » $485,685 $845 $611,426 $0
Rick Perry* (R) Full Report » $388,531 $860,168 $3,290,249 $0
SuperPAC: Make Us Great Again Supports: Perry | Full Report »
Michele Bachmann* (R) Full Report »

Notes

— Bachmann, Huntsman and Perry suspended their campaigns in January 2012.
— Neither Bachmann nor the Make Us Great Again superPAC (supporting Perry) submitted a fundraising report for January 2012.

October 16, 2011

The former governor of Massachusetts and current governor of Texas led other Republican presidential primary candidates in fundraising this summer, and on Sept. 30 they had substantially more cash than the rest. Still, President Obama, as an incumbent with no Democratic primary challengers, had $61.4 million on hand, compared with $37.2 million for the entire GOP field. The candidates reported these third-quarter totals, covering July, August and September.

Interactive Graph: Weekly third-quarter fundraising totals

Candidate Raised On hand Spent Debt owed
Barack Obama* (D) Full Report » $42,090,011 $61,403,711 $17,790,314 ($193,373/day) $1,709,300
Rick Perry* (R) Full Report » $17,200,232 $15,078,415 $2,121,817 ($43,302/day) $339,120
Mitt Romney (R) Full Report » $14,222,571 $14,656,966 $12,281,100 ($133,490/day) $0
Ron Paul (R) Full Report » $8,268,500 $3,674,768 $7,559,909 ($82,173/day) $0
Jon Huntsman (R) Full Report » $4,514,189 $327,615 $4,186,574 ($45,506/day) $3,145,594
Michele Bachmann* (R) Full Report » $4,107,395 $1,545,772 $6,206,328 ($67,460/day) $549,604
Herman Cain (R) Full Report » $2,813,342 $1,333,779 $1,967,152 ($21,382/day) $675,000
Newt Gingrich (R) Full Report » $807,962 $353,417 $776,768 ($8,443/day) $1,192,866
Rick Santorum (R) Full Report » $704,199 $189,557 $743,757 ($8,084/day) $71,866

Note

— Obama also has raised $27.3 million for the Democratic National Committee.
— Perry was an active candidate for 49 days of this reporting period.
— Bachmann has two committees that filed disclosure reports: her presidential campaign and another for online fundraising which predates the presidential campaign.

February 1, 2012

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney led the Republican field in fundraising in 2011 — raising more than $57 million — but he was outpaced by President Obama, who pulled in almost $140 million. Filings at the end of 2011 also gave the first real insight into the finances of superPACs — a new breed of political action committee that can raise unregulated money.

Interactive Graph: Weekly fourth-quarter fundraising totals

Candidate Total raised (2011) On hand Total spent (2011) Debt owed
Barack Obama (D) Full Report » $139,526,311 $81,761,012 $126,448,915 $3,035,737
SuperPAC: Priorities USA Action Supports: Obama | Full Report » $4,400,616 $1,517,821 $2,882,794 $0
Mitt Romney (R) Full Report » $57,112,767 $19,916,126 $37,209,679 $0
SuperPAC: Restore Our Future Supports: Romney | Full Report » $17,947,953 $23,622,110 $6,535,214 $0
Ron Paul (R) Full Report » $26,104,721 $1,904,915 $24,199,806 $0
SuperPAC: Endorse Liberty Supports: Paul | Full Report » $1,020,055 $627,830 $392,225 $0
Rick Perry* (R) Full Report » $20,109,798 $3,761,886 $16,347,912 $93,745
SuperPAC: Make Us Great Again Supports: Perry | Full Report » $5,485,885 $604,472 $4,881,413 $0
Herman Cain* (R) Full Report » $16,861,687 $986,430 $15,875,256 $580,200
SuperPAC: 9-9-9 Fund Supports: Cain | Full Report » $617,620 $203,528 $414,093 $184,525
Newt Gingrich (R) Full Report » $12,733,254 $2,108,831 $10,624,423 $1,199,361
SuperPAC: Winning Our Future Supports: Gingrich | Full Report » $2,087,171 $1,176,503 $910,668 $0
Michele Bachmann* (R) Full Report » $10,213,213 $608,884 $11,904,546 $1,055,924
Jon Huntsman* (R) Full Report » $5,918,425 $110,965 $5,807,460 $3,775,253
SuperPAC: Our Destiny PAC Supports: Huntsman | Full Report » $2,680,560 $126,587 $2,553,973 $0
Rick Santorum (R) Full Report » $2,184,953 $278,935 $1,906,019 $204,836
SuperPAC: Red White & Blue Fund Supports: Santorum | Full Report » $729,935 $78,114 $651,821 $0

Note

— Cain suspended his campaign in December 2011. Bachmann, Huntsman and Perry suspended their campaigns in January 2012.
— Bachmann has two committees that filed disclosure reports: her presidential campaign and another for online fundraising which predates the presidential campaign.

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