Mitt's top fund-raiser — again
Romney took in $20.5 million for the second quarter
The second-quarter figure released Tuesday by the Romney campaign includes a $6.5 million loan from the candidate. Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani reported Tuesday raising $17 million in the same time period.
On Monday, the other top-tier Republican in the race, Arizona Sen. John McCain, announced he'd raised just $11.2 million in the second quarter and acknowledged the layoffs of dozens of staffers.
The most cash went to a Democratic presidential candidate, Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, who took in more than $31 million in the second quarter. The Democratic front-runner, New York Sen. Hillary Clinton, amassed some $27 million.
Just how much of Romney's money came from Utah, where he spent several years as head of the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, won't be disclosed until a detailed report is filed with the Federal Elections Committee later this month, his campaign said.
But Utah, which ranked behind only California in financial support for Romney in the first three months of the year, is expected to be a significant contributor this time, too. In late June, he held three fund-raising events in Utah, where some $500,000 was expected to be collected.
Kirk Jowers, director of the University of Utah's Hinckley Institute of Politics and a Romney supporter, agreed. "I think Utah will again be one of the top five states for Romney," Jowers said, but "probably not" as high as second in contributions.
During the first three months of the year, Utahns accounted for nearly $2.8 million of the $23 million reported then by Romney, a total that also included a loan from the candidate. "I think other states have been warming to Romney and have more people," Jowers said.
Romney's total for 2007 — essentially since the start of the presidential campaign — is now at $43.9 million. Unlike some of his competitors, Romney is only raising money for the primary election.
Money came in from all 50 states and the District of Columbia for Romney, according to his campaign. Some 50,000 new donors have come up with cash for the campaign since April, thanks in part to daylong drives in Utah and other states to sign up new supporters.
Campaign spokesman Kevin Madden said the former Massachusetts governor's "momentum is the result of his message, which is centered around changing the status quo and transforming Washington."
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