McCain Raises $22 Million In June

WASHINGTON — Republican presidential candidate John McCain raised more than $22 million in June, his best fundraising performance of the year, and ended the month with nearly $27 million cash on hand.

Campaign manager Rick Davis said Thursday that McCain and the national Republican Party together entered July with about $95 million in the bank. The Republican National Committee, which has been raising money jointly with McCain, collected nearly $26 million in June and had nearly $69 million on hand, officials said.

The campaign's fundraising has given McCain the ability to spend more on television advertising than Democrat Barack Obama in key battleground states. Davis said about half of its income had been spent on television advertising.

Obama has not revealed his June fundraising.

In announcing McCain's fundraising, Davis portrayed the campaign's financial position as far brighter than ever before. He said the joint RNC-McCain fundraising through direct mail is now exceeding President Bush's direct mail fundraising in 2004.

"We will have significant resources to prosecute a campaign that is very robust," Davis said.

The McCain and Obama campaigns have significantly different fundraising calculations to make.

McCain has agreed to take public financing in the fall, limiting him to about $84 million in spending for campaign activities. That means he will have to rely on the Republican Party to spend more to help his bid.

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Obama has chosen to reject the public funds, the first major party candidate to do so in the general election in three decades. Obama is counting on raising far more than the $84 million he would be allotted by the taxpayer-financed presidential fund. While McCain must spend any money he raises now by the end of August, Obama does not. The Democratic senator could save that money to boost his general election spending.

"They have to determine whether they will husband their primary dollars to be used in the general election, or spend down their primary dollars to keep pace with our spending," Davis said.

Obama's campaign officials would not discuss their finances. But spokesman Bill Burton noted that Obama has more than 1.7 million donors and that, unlike Obama, McCain is getting help raising money from federal lobbyists.

"We ... are simply not surprised that John McCain and President Bush have been able to raise millions of dollars for the McCain campaign last month, much of it from Washington lobbyists," Burton said.

Besides their own spending, however, both sides have begun to see increased advertising by outside groups. A group of veterans supporting McCain's stance on the war in Iraq began running ads this week in some battleground states. The AFL-CIO also has an anti-McCain ad campaign in similar states.

Meanwhile, the RNC can spend up to $19 million in coordination with the McCain campaign. But it can also spend unlimited amounts on his behalf as long as the campaigns don't discuss those efforts.

Davis said McCain and the RNC expect to raise a combined $95 million by the end of August. After that, Davis predicted the combined party and public money available to advance McCain's campaign in the fall would total about $210 million.

Obama has proved to be a prodigious fundraiser, but the Democratic National Committee has had far less cash on hand than its Republican counterpart. At the end of May, the RNC had $53 million cash on hand to the DNC's $4 million.

McCain has been airing ads on national cable networks and in Colorado, Missouri, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Iowa. This week it cut back significantly in Minnesota, where Republicans will hold their convention, to buy time in northern Virginia. Obama has been airing ads in more states, but spending less.

Davis said he expected Obama to begin ramping up his advertising expenditures.

Obama has broken records in fundraising. He had raised $287 million by the end of May, but had only $33 million cash on hand to spend between now and the end of August.

McCain had nearly $32 million in the bank at the start of June. Davis said the lower cash-on-hand figure at the end of June reflected the campaign's additional ad spending.

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On the Net:

McCain: http://www.johnmccain.com

Comments

[PumaAnn]

Why hasn't Obama released his numbers this month?

[imsosure]

Desperate times bring out the desperate moves. I bet if it were investigated though that a good portion of the money was illegally got.

[incontempt]

are you going to have a candidate to spend the money on?...mccain seems to be working for the Dems...goodluck

[wolf58]

Yep and i'll bet that most of it came from Bin Laden, hey McCain is no GW Bush but he is a Republican and thats close enough for number two terrorist in the world (Bush has beat him out three years in a row) and holds the number one slot. Bin Laden is hopeful about McCain after his remarks of Iraq being the fronline on the war on terror, he figures if McCain wins it will give him another four years to plan and maybe attack us again. Go team go, keep sending money to the Repiblicans

[4real]

Thanks Cindy!!

[bygollymissmolly]

And this, my friends, is why O'bama turned down public financing for his campaign. Mc'Cain will continue to collect money from 527's, corporations, lobbyists and the RNC and then also take 85 million in public financing. Way to game the system Mc'Cain.

[Liberoservative]

I'm confused... when does the campaign finance thing start? How can McCain still be raising private donations?

[lthuedk 1]

The richest fascists are pulling all the stops, as they know their end could be near. The MSM will act not patriotically, but greedily, as always, to the detriment of the nation that spawned them and gave them the freedom to...destroy it.

It's their choice: Dictatorship or Republic?

http://www.light-to-dark.com/obama_confronts_the_corporation.html

[NotMcCain]

--"McCain and the RNC expect to raise a combined $95 million by the end of August. After that, McCain will stop fundraising and accept about $84 million in public funds. The RNC, however, WILL CONTINUE FUDRAISING AND SPENDING MONEY TO FINANCE McCAIN'S PRESIDENTIAL RUN."

When will the MSM stop lambasting Obama for his honesty (or as they like to call it, "flipflops") and start exposing McSame for the HYPOCRITE HE IS?????

McCain's claim of taxpayer funding is bogus. How long until CNN reports that? (crickets chirping....)

[sandiegoconservative]

How is it hypocritical? McCain is not the RNC, just like Obama is not the DNC. Both groups are free to spend money as they see fit.

[bygollymissmolly]

So perhaps you can tell us how Mc'Cain is "publically financing" his bid when the RNC is paying most of the bills?

[AdLib]

I remember Mittens and Rude-y throwing tons more millions at the GOP primary and losing miserably. The irony this year seems to be that when a Repugg spends a lot, he loses. Money and ads can't convince people who are suffering that they aren't, however much Phil Gramm "whines" about it.

When this is said and done, we can cost out how much McCaln and the Repuggs spent per electoral candidate and laugh at all that corporate money thrown down the drain.

[closetodemfection]

I bet O has not revealed his June fundraising because it's an embarrassment.

[olivia]

Likely.

[wm1066]

So thats why he went to Colombia!

[closetodemfection]

LOL

[leftoflennon]

Obama will raise waaay more.

TRUST.

[Daly]

The campaign's fundraising has given McCain the ability to outspend Democratic rival Barack Obama on television advertising in key battleground states.

That's the point itis called rope a dope; Cain has to spend $ in states that were a given and he will have to waste time going there for is daffy moment du jour.

[zendem1]

All of the GOP crazies are coming home to roost. It took awhile, but it was inevitable.