In the battle for political cash, President Barack Obama is finding himself in an unaccustomed place during the final months of the 2012 campaign: He is losing.
Mitt Romney and the Republican National Committee easily outraised the formidable Obama money machine for the second month in a row, with a nonstop schedule of high-dollar events around the country that brought in $106 million during June to Obama's $71 million, giving him and his party four times the cash on hand it had just three months ago.
Obama's fundraising deficit in part reflects how steeply the terrain has shifted since 2008, when many Republican donors embraced the candidate and his campaign raised millions of dollars from Wall Street and other traditionally right-leaning industries. Now those donors are swinging hard back to the Republican Party -- and to Romney, whose promise to curtail regulation and cut taxes has helped spur a torrent of five-figure checks.
In a worrisome development for the Obama campaign, Romney, who until now has been heavily dependent on donors giving the maximum federal contribution, also showed success in June drawing small donors, a traditional strength of the Obama campaign.
A 'statement'
Reflecting the intensifying general election matchup with Obama and conservative anger over the recent Supreme Court decision upholding the president's signature health care law, Romney raised about a third of
his total in checks of under $250, officials said on Monday. Romney and the RNC now have about $160 million in cash."This month's fundraising is a statement from voters that they want a change of direction in Washington," Spencer Zwick, Romney's finance chief, said in a statement.
Romney's surge puts him on track to raise the $800 million his campaign and the Republican National Committee hope to bring in by Election Day, leaving the real possibility that Obama could be outspent despite the advantages of incumbency. And with political gravity reasserting itself on Obama, he is being forced to rely more heavily on traditional Democratic constituencies, like Hollywood, labor unions and gay donors, as well as his own millions of small donors.
"It's the perfect storm for Republicans," said R. Donahue Peebles, a New York businessman who has raised more than $100,000 for Obama. "Republicans and independents who supported the president financially thought they would see a change in how Washington worked. What they see now, and it's not necessarily the president's fault, is a lot of partisanship in Washington and a struggling economy."
Obama, who reported about $109 million in cash in the bank at the end of May, has been significantly outspending Romney on advertising in swing states. But Romney's fundraising successes are being matched by Republican-leaning outside groups, who are barraging the airwaves with anti-Obama advertisements that the president's campaign has been forced to spend its own money to match.
On Monday, the biggest of the super PACs, American Crossroads, announced a $40 million, nine-state fall ad campaign against Obama, coming on top of a $25 million spree by an affiliate that will run through Labor Day.
Early lead slipping
Obama easily outraised Romney through much of the last year, as Romney fought for the Republican nomination and Obama exploited his incumbency to raise large checks in conjunction with the Democratic National Committee.
And newly minted nominees typically take in huge influxes of cash as major donors come off the sidelines at the end of a nominating fight, as John Kerry did during the early months of the 2004 general election campaign against George W. Bush. Come November, the final tally between the two candidates could be close to a draw.
Yet money flooding into Romney's campaign suggests that even Obama -- the most prodigious fundraiser to date in political history -- can be beaten. And Democratic-aligned outside groups, including those investing heavily in races for the House and Senate, are far behind their Republican counterparts in raising and spending money.
All told, Republican candidates, party committees and outside groups have spent $269 million on broadcast advertising, according to the Campaign Media Analysis Group, compared with $133 million for the Democratic side. Those totals do not included tens of millions of dollars that Obama invested early in the cycle on data mining, technology and campaign infrastructure, efforts Romney is now seeking to match on the fly.
Obama is being outraised despite a more intense fundraising schedule than any of his predecessors: He was scheduled to hold two events Monday in Washington, bringing the total to 174 fundraisers since formally beginning his re-election campaign last year, according to CBS News.
Obama sought to rally supporters on Monday with a blunt email from Ann Marie Habershaw, the campaign's chief operating officer.
"We could lose if this continues," Habershaw warned.
Mitt Romney and the Republican National Committee easily outraised the formidable Obama money machine for the second month in a row, with a nonstop schedule of high-dollar events around the country that brought in $106 million during June to Obama's $71 million, giving him and his party four times the cash on hand it had just three months ago.
Obama's fundraising deficit in part reflects how steeply the terrain has shifted since 2008, when many Republican donors embraced the candidate and his campaign raised millions of dollars from Wall Street and other traditionally right-leaning industries. Now those donors are swinging hard back to the Republican Party -- and to Romney, whose promise to curtail regulation and cut taxes has helped spur a torrent of five-figure checks.
In a worrisome development for the Obama campaign, Romney, who until now has been heavily dependent on donors giving the maximum federal contribution, also showed success in June drawing small donors, a traditional strength of the Obama campaign.
A 'statement'
Reflecting the intensifying general election matchup with Obama and conservative anger over the recent Supreme Court decision upholding the president's signature health care law, Romney raised about a third of
his total in checks of under $250, officials said on Monday. Romney and the RNC now have about $160 million in cash."This month's fundraising is a statement from voters that they want a change of direction in Washington," Spencer Zwick, Romney's finance chief, said in a statement.
Romney's surge puts him on track to raise the $800 million his campaign and the Republican National Committee hope to bring in by Election Day, leaving the real possibility that Obama could be outspent despite the advantages of incumbency. And with political gravity reasserting itself on Obama, he is being forced to rely more heavily on traditional Democratic constituencies, like Hollywood, labor unions and gay donors, as well as his own millions of small donors.
"It's the perfect storm for Republicans," said R. Donahue Peebles, a New York businessman who has raised more than $100,000 for Obama. "Republicans and independents who supported the president financially thought they would see a change in how Washington worked. What they see now, and it's not necessarily the president's fault, is a lot of partisanship in Washington and a struggling economy."
Obama, who reported about $109 million in cash in the bank at the end of May, has been significantly outspending Romney on advertising in swing states. But Romney's fundraising successes are being matched by Republican-leaning outside groups, who are barraging the airwaves with anti-Obama advertisements that the president's campaign has been forced to spend its own money to match.
On Monday, the biggest of the super PACs, American Crossroads, announced a $40 million, nine-state fall ad campaign against Obama, coming on top of a $25 million spree by an affiliate that will run through Labor Day.
Early lead slipping
Obama easily outraised Romney through much of the last year, as Romney fought for the Republican nomination and Obama exploited his incumbency to raise large checks in conjunction with the Democratic National Committee.
And newly minted nominees typically take in huge influxes of cash as major donors come off the sidelines at the end of a nominating fight, as John Kerry did during the early months of the 2004 general election campaign against George W. Bush. Come November, the final tally between the two candidates could be close to a draw.
Yet money flooding into Romney's campaign suggests that even Obama -- the most prodigious fundraiser to date in political history -- can be beaten. And Democratic-aligned outside groups, including those investing heavily in races for the House and Senate, are far behind their Republican counterparts in raising and spending money.
All told, Republican candidates, party committees and outside groups have spent $269 million on broadcast advertising, according to the Campaign Media Analysis Group, compared with $133 million for the Democratic side. Those totals do not included tens of millions of dollars that Obama invested early in the cycle on data mining, technology and campaign infrastructure, efforts Romney is now seeking to match on the fly.
Obama is being outraised despite a more intense fundraising schedule than any of his predecessors: He was scheduled to hold two events Monday in Washington, bringing the total to 174 fundraisers since formally beginning his re-election campaign last year, according to CBS News.
Obama sought to rally supporters on Monday with a blunt email from Ann Marie Habershaw, the campaign's chief operating officer.
"We could lose if this continues," Habershaw warned.