Romney pulls in $40 million in April, nearly matches Obama

WASHINGTON - Agence France-Presse

In this photo taken May 16, 2012, Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney speaks in St. Petersburg, Fla. AP photo

Mitt Romney's presidential campaign raked in an impressive $40.1 million in his first month as the presumptive Republican nominee, his team announced Thursday, nearly matching US President Barack Obama's haul.

Romney's April fundraising total is dramatically stronger than the $12.6 million he generated the previous month, and comes close to the $43.6 million the president raised.
 
The White House challenger, who since April has been raising money in conjunction with the Republican National Committee and some state and national party committees, has $61.4 million in cash on hand, his campaign said.
 
"We are pleased with the strong support we have received from Americans across the country who are looking for new leadership in the White House," Romney's finance chairman Spencer Zwick said in a statement.
 
Some 95 percent of the nearly 300,000 donations were of $250 or less, although those donations accounted for a quarter of the $40.1 million total.
 
The Democrats' April haul -- from more than 437,000 grassroots supporters -- was less than in March, when they raked in about $53 million.
 
The ability to raise millions is a necessary part of the expensive American campaign system, and the candidate with bigger campaign coffers has a decided advantage in getting his message out to voters.
 
Romney, on track to officially clinch the nomination by the end of this month, is seeking to oust Obama from the White House in November's election, when voters across the United States also cast ballots for the entire House of Representatives and a third of the US Senate.
 
White House officials said Wednesday that the Obama campaign is counting on the generosity of contributors to counter the effect of "Super Pac" groups which, under recently reformulated campaign finance rules, can spend as much money as they like buying ads.