President Barack Obama’s re-election campaign raised more than $86 million in the second quarter, according to multiple news sources.
The figure represents money raised by both the Obama campaign itself and the Democratic National Committee, including contributions received by the Obama Victory Fund, a joint fundraising committee run by the two entities, and includes contributions from 552,462 individuals.
The contributions reflect “more grass roots support at this point in the process than any campaign in political history,” said campaign manager Jim Messina, who called the President’s second quarter haul a “monumental achievement.” Messina said that 98 percent of the donations were in amounts of $250 or less.
The average contribution was $69, said Messina, a former deputy White House chief of staff.
The Obama campaign had set a fundraising goal of $60 million for the second quarter.
The $86 million raised by Obama shatters the record of $50.1 million for a quarter in a non-election year set by President George W. Bush in the third quarter of 2003.
Obama, who announced his re-election bid on April 4, raised nearly five times as much as former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, the early GOP frontrunner. Romney reportedly raised $18.3 million in the second quarter while other Republican contenders lagged far behind.
U.S. Rep. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas raised $4.5 million, while former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty collected $4.2 million. Former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman, who didn’t officially enter the race until late June, pulled in $4.1 million, including $2 million of his own money.
Herman Cain, the former CEO of Godfather’s Pizza, collected $2.46 million, while former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, whose troubled candidacy is already saddled with a debt of approximately $1 million, raised about $2 million during the second quarter.
Minnesota congresswoman Michele Bachmann and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum have not yet released their second quarter figures.
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