McCain Raises $27M In July

Presumptive Republican Nominee Brings In Largest Monthly Haul Of His Campaign

(AP)  John McCain raised $27 million in July, his largest one-month fundraising haul since clinching the Republican presidential nomination, while the Republican National Committee brought in nearly $26 million.

The GOP nominee-in-waiting had $21 million available to spend as August began, while the national party began the month with $75 million to compete with the Democrats.

Republicans are looking to even out the financial playing field in this campaign, having trailed Democrats in overall fundraising for most of the election cycle. The disparity reflects the enthusiasm among Democrats that's lacking among the GOP.

McCain has agreed to accept some $84 million in public financing for the general election, the only money he can spend after formally accepting his party's nomination at the convention in early September. He essentially needs to drain down his campaign bank account this month.

That explains, for example, why he can afford to spend some $6 million to run TV advertising during the Olympics this month, and has been able to blanket 11 battleground states with multimillion dollars worth of commercials since first going up on the air in earnest in June.

Democrat Barack Obama has decided to forgo public financing for the general election, relying instead on his significant fundraising.

John McCain and the Republican National Committee started August with a hefty $96 million, financially flush and strongly positioned to compete with prolific fundraiser Barack Obama and the Democrats.

Republicans have been trying to even out the financial playing field after trailing Democrats in overall fundraising for most of the election cycle.

McCain has been a subpar fundraiser and has lagged the much-more adept Obama in monthly campaign tallies. But the RNC, with big-draw President Bush helping, has trounced its Democratic counterpart in collections. That has helped McCain and the GOP stay competitive financially with Obama and the Democratic National Committee.

The July numbers reflect how far McCain and the Republicans have come.

McCain raised $27 million in July, his largest one-month fundraising haul since clinching the GOP presidential nomination, and had $21 million available to spend, while the RNC brought in nearly $26 million, and had $75 million on hand to compete with the Democrats.

McCain, himself, now has 600,000 donors, while the party announced it had reached 1 million.

By comparison, Obama alone recently surpassed 2 million contributors, giving him a larger pool of donors to hit up for money again. He and the DNC have not yet disclosed their monthly takes.

"Our fundraising continues to be very healthy," Rick Davis, McCain's campaign manager, said in a conference call with reporters, noting that July was the fifth-straight month McCain has improved his cash flow.

Despite lackluster fundraising earlier this year, the campaign's improved money situation has allowed the GOP nominee-in-waiting to keep pace with - if not exceed - his Democratic rival in advertising, including $6 million during the ultra-expensive Olympics and three straight months of multimillions for commercials in 11 battleground states.

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The Money Race
Check out the complete June tallies for Obama and McCain - including how much they've raised and spent since the campaign began.

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McCain's overall advertising budget for August is expected to exceed $20 million, and, by the convention in early September, Davis said McCain is on track to spend some $60 million on TV expenditures.

He released a new TV ad on Friday in key states that criticizes Obama on taxes.

"Celebrity? Yes. Ready to lead? No," the ad says, with the Democrats' name chanted in the background and pictures of him before adoring crowds. The commercial claims that "Obama's new taxes could break your family budget," mean "higher prices at the pump," and are a "recipe for economic disaster."

Obama spokesman Hari Sevugan responded: "This ad is just more of the same old, false and discredited attacks that Senator McCain knows aren't true."

For the general election, McCain and Obama are operating under different financial scenarios of their own choosing.

McCain has agreed to accept $84 million in public financing for the general election and the spending restraints that come with it.

Though the party committee can raise and spend as much as it wants to help him, the taxpayer money is the only cash that McCain can spend after accepting his party's nomination at the convention next month. He essentially needs to drain down his privately funded campaign bank account this month - and that helps explain the heavy TV spending.

Davis put the budget for September, October and the first few days of November at more than $100 million - including the taxpayer money and accounts the RNC shares with the campaign - and said: "We will start the general election fully flush."

Obama, emboldened by record-shattering collections in the primary, decided to forgo public financing for the general election and became the first major-party presidential candidate in three decades to do so. That means he needs to rely on his significant fundraising capabilities to build up his cash reserves going into the fall, whereas McCain needs to deplete his.

McCain's last month total exceeded his $21 million June collection, at that point his best fundraising month; Obama raised more than twice that at $52 million.

Not counting July, Obama overall has raised about $340 million to McCain's nearly $140 million.

[zerato-2009]

This month mccain only had to flip flop on 5 issues to aquire his campaign contributions. Mccain the campaign for sale for the price of a contribution. Have issue will sale.

I am john mccain and I approve this message

[wellhell3]

Kewl!!!! Go Grandpa McCain! Use it to write some of those great ads! They''re humorous and SPOT ON!

[mcvet-1]

I wonder how much of that come''s from Big Oil?? LOL Any American Working Man who votes for the Republican''s after what we see and know doesn''t care a lot for his family! If you have ANY doubt what Republican "Trickle Down" has done to this nation, get in your car and drive. That''s all I need to say! The NATION is falling down, that Plant down the road along with ALL the small business around it? It''s in a THIRD World Country! The guy down the way?? The one who always took his son fishing on Saturday?? How long has it been since you actually SEEN him and his son together?? SIEG HEIL McSlime

[mcvet-1]

anybody know how much obama raised last month and has now?

Posted by ccfsdca at 11:22 AM : Aug 15, 2008

52 Million and has in excess of 100 million. Now you must also keep in mind that Obama has NOT gone negative and had to produce all those ads NECESSARY to elect someone like a George Bush. Sieg Heil McSlime

[lordmi]

McWar, how much in there is from Georgia and other places, where You do support the war?

[ioweign]

SPOT ON!

Posted by WellHell3 at 12:06 PM : Aug 15, 2008



Sounds like a feminine hygiene product...

[dchu76]

Speaking of strategy Obama''s ads are dealing with specific issues locally, while McCain''s are simply calling names. Mccain speaks about Obamas polices more than obama himself. Mccain needs to play the small ball, to win local voters and local newspapers instead of creating a debate in the natioanl page editorials.

[dchu76]

anybody know how much obama raised last month and has now?
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Posted by ccfsdca at 11:22 AM : Aug 15, 2008

for june obama raised 55 mil vs mccain 25 mil. In total at the end of june obama + dnc has 100 mil, rnc mccain had 90 mil. After July Obama will have even more of a financial lead, plus come sept october he wont have a spending limit.

[dchu76]

Center for Responsive Politics, Democrat Barack Obama has received nearly six times as much money from troops deployed overseas at the time of their contributions than has Republican John McCain.

Lobbists are powering McCains campaign, Obama wont even take money from them, and still Mccain cant come close to Obama in fund raising.

[gwagener]

anybody know how much obama raised last month and has now?
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Posted by ccfsdca at 11:22 AM : Aug 15, 2008

Just click on the Money Race link for the details of both campaigns.

If Obama had accepted public financing it is likely the campaigns would have been about even, but the RNC would have had far more money than the DNC, which would have put Obama at a severe disadvantage. As it is, the Obama campaign will have far more maney than McCain after the RNC convention, but the RNC will stil have far more money than the DNC, so the Dem advantage on money will not be enormous.

[blkpresident]

With all the money that he raised in July maybe gramps can purchase a nap "blankie" for each hour of the day times seven days a week. Sleep on your own time old man, not at taxpayers expense. Goodnight grandpa.

[sleepyric]

how much of that money was donated by lobbyists and oil? Don''t give me any of that "straight talk",,,give me the truth for once??

[james77773]

McCain wants US in another WAR, give him an access to the red button!!!

[bretster7]

how much of that money was donated by lobbyists and oil? Don''''t give me any of that "straight talk",,,give me the truth for once??


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Posted by sleepyric at 03:15 PM : Aug 15, 2008





Probably about as much as was given to Obama from Hamas and other extremistst.. Oh thats right he gave that back, but funny how when the two brothers that gave it to him were contacted to see if they had recieved it, they both said no. LOL

[mr2258]

The money is pouring in for McCain because people are so against Obama.

[liberty_1776]

Obama''s campaign was eagerly volunteering his monthly take in February (months ago), but they aren''t too anxious to tell now. I wonder what the problem is? OK, I''m, kidding. I know what the problem is: In February, no one wanted Hitlery to get nominated. Now that she''s out, Obama won''t have quite so much financial support. It''s pretty funny, because soon he will wish he chose to use public funding like McCain did. Obama claimed to support public funding until he thought it would benefit him. Same thing happened with drilling for new oil - he opposed it until he thought it might help his campaign. What a phony. Obama supporters had better open up their turbans, dashikis, and suicide vests and contribute ''mo money'' to Saddam Hussein Obama. He''s falling behind in the fund raising!

[liberty_1776]

Correction:

"Obama claimed to support public funding until he thought private funding would benefit him."

[liberty_1776]

This article screams out to Obama supporters (Hippies Blacks, and Muslim terrorists) that Obama needs more money!

[tothestars2]

I wonder why CBS news has no report on the racist remark of dnc leader dean about republicans as other news org. have?

Dean is not running for President.

[mitch5511]

And Obama nearly doubles McCain fundraising in July...more than $51 million. LOL What does that tell you?

Yes, we want Obama as president, not another warmonger who doesn''t have a lick of sense.

[misha128-2009]

liberty-1776 == Obama is publicly funded at a lower per contributor rate than Senator McCain by over double the number of contributors, without seeking a government guarantee to back his primary loan request or a government handout for his general election fund while simultaneously appealing to the public for additional assistance as follows. Senator McCain focuses significant portions of his efforts on collecting contributions to the national party with over $28.000 per contributor maximum vs Senator Obama''s contributors limited to $2,300 for each the primary and general election. The last time I heard it reported Obama''s average contribution was still well under $100 per person.