President Obama and the Democratic Party raised $71 million in June -- $35 million less than opponent Mitt Romney and the Republicans.In an e-mail to supporters, the Obama campaign said June was the best fundraising month of the campaign -- but added, "we still got beat. Handily."
Romney and the Republicans outraised Obama in May as well.
Ann Marie Habershaw, the Obama campaign's chief operating officer, said in the e-mail that if Obama loses to Romney in November, "it will be because we didn't close the gap enough when we had the chance."
Obama's campaign team had braced supporters last week for relatively bad news on the fundraising front.
In an e-mail last week, Obama campaign manager Jim Messina told supporters that the Republican money gap "is getting wider, and if it continues at this pace, it could cost us the election."
