Mitt Romney raised $40.1 million in his first month as the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, nearly matching President Obama’s total.
Romney’s total for April falls just shy of the $43.6 million the president raised last month and shows Romney benefiting from the resolution of the nomination contest. The Romney campaign raised the money in conjunction with the Republican National Committee and a combination of state and national party committees.
The April fundraising figures mark a steep jump from the $12.6 million Romney raised in March and offers the first evidence that the likely GOP nominee may be able to keep pace with the president.
The Republican also benefits from a collection of well-funded outside groups that already spent millions hammering Obama and have plans to spend hundreds of millions more to unseat the president. Democrats will draw support from labor unions and other allies.
Even before Romney effectively locked up the nomination, his campaign launched a joint fundraising committee with the Republican National Committee and four state parties to help the candidate raise as much as $75,800 from individual donors. The candidate has spent much of the last month raising money in anticipation of a November matchup with Obama.
Combined with the Republican National Committee, the Romney campaign has $61.4 million in cash on hand.
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