Campaign spending tops $1.7 billion
NEW YORK (CBS) -- The presidential campaigns of Barack Obama and Mitt Romney campaign have now raised a combined $1.1 billion on their own and spent just about $1 billion with two weeks until Election Day, according the campaigns' final pre-election reports filed Thursday with the Federal Election Commission.
After raising another $77 million through October 17, Obama For America has raised a total of $656 million. The campaign has spent $631 million overall in 2011-2012 and entered the final two weeks with $94 million cash on hand.
Romney For America raised $52 million in early October for a 2011-2012 total of $413 million. It has spent $361 million overall and entered the final two weeks with $53 million in the bank.
These totals reflect the candidates' own fundraising arms and don't include money raised by committees set up jointly between the presidential campaigns and the national political parties, nor do they include what the parties say they've raised on the campaigns' behalf. Including those figures, Romney's side raised $111.8 million in the first 17 days of October and Mr. Obama's camp brought in $90.5 million.
Mr. Obama's overall advantages in money raised and spent, and cash on hand are balanced by outside groups spending on Romney's behalf.
Chief among these is Restore Our Future, the main pro-Romney super PAC, which has buoyed the campaign since the primary season, when it spent $40 million on advertisements attacking Romney's chief rivals, Rick Santorum and New Gingrich.
Restore Our Future has spent $117 million since its inception last year and reported having $24 million cash on hand for the home stretch.
The pro-Romney group received another $10 million infusion from Nevada casino mogul Sheldon Adelson in early October, as well as $1 million donations from past seven-figure givers Texas tycoon Harold Simmons, California media executive and investor Jerry Perenchio, and New York hedge fund manager Julian Robertson.
The main pro-Obama super PAC, Priorities USA Action, entered the final two weeks with $10 million cash on hand with the help of six first-time $1 million donors in early October.
Billionaire investor George Soros gave $1 million, as did Mark Pincus, the founder and CEO of online game company Zynga, LinkedIn co-founder and executive chairman Reid Garrett Hoffman, and Silicon Valley venture capitalist Vinod Khosla.
Sidney Kimmel, chairman of the Jones Apparel Group, the fashion company behind brands such as Nine West and Anne Klein, gave $1 million to the pro-Obama super PAC in early October. So did Minnesota philanthropist Alida Rockefeller Messigner, a daughter of John Rockefeller III and sister of West Virginia Senator Jay Rockefeller.
In addition to the $1.1 billion raised the by Obama and Romney campaigns, there has been approximately $400 million devoted to the presidential race by outside groups.
With close to $200 million spent by or on behalf of the other Republican candidates who ran for president, the tab for 2012 presidential race is $1.7 billion and rising.
While the Obama campaign itself had raised $243 million more than the Romney campaign, according to the early October FEC reports, outside spending now favors Romney by 3 to 1.
The gap is at least $150 million to $200 million in funds already spent, according to two watchdog groups updating independent expenditures daily.
As of October 25, Sunlight Foundation tallied independent expenditures for Romney or Mr. Obama at $345 million, with $254 million, or 74 percent, supporting Romney and $91 million supporting Mr. Obama
The Center for Responsive Politics tallied $425 million in independent expenditures, with $306 million, or 72 percent, supporting Romney, and $119 million, or 28 percent, supporting Obama.
In addition to Restore Our Future, three of the other top five outside spenders are pro-Romney or pro-Republican.
American Crossroads super PAC, and its sister group Crossroads GPS, both co-founded by former George W. Bush adviser Karl Rove and former RNC Chairman Ed Gillespie. have spent more than $130 million, according to Sunlight and CPR, supporting Romney and Republican candidates seeking other offices.
While super PACs may not coordinate their spending with campaigns, they may coordinate strategy with each other. A former Romney adviser, Carl Forti, manages both American Crossroads and Restore Our Future.
The non-profit Americans for Prosperity, backed by the energy industry billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch, prolific supporters of conservative causes, and the business-backed U.S. Chamber of Commerce, have each recently spent more than $30 million.
The eight GOP Republicans who sought to beat Romney for the Republican nomination spent a combined $149 million on their campaigns, according to FEC reports. Ron Paul was the best funded and spent $40 million. Newt Gingrich spent $24 million, followed by Rick Santorum, with $23 million; Rick Perry, $20 million; Herman Cain, $16 million; Michelle Bachmann, $10 million; Jon Huntsman, $9 million; and Tim Pawlenty, $6 million.
Super PACs established for six of the also-rans - Gingrich, Santorum, Paul, Perry, Huntsman, Cain -- spent a combined $36 million.