Opinion: Obama’s money machine runs rich; so do House and Senate Democrats

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Barack Obama raised $51 million in July, pushing the total he has raised since his presidential quest began to more than $390 million.

His take dipped slightly from the $52 million he raised in June. But he nearly matched the roughly $53 million raised by John McCain and the Republican National Committee combined in July.

Obama’s $390 million in contributions (it’s actually about $400 million when miscellaneous increases are counted) is significantly more than the nominees raised four years back. President Bush had raised $240 million at this point four years ago, and Sen. John Kerry had received $210 million in donations.

With the $27 million he raised in July, McCain’s total now hovers at about $153 million.

Obama is spending heavily on television ads in battleground states and on the the high-priced Olympics. As a result, the Democrat’s cash in the bank slipped to $65.8 million at the end of July, from $71.6 million at the end of June.

Obama expects to out-raise McCain in part by seeking more money from his army of now 2 million donors. McCain has 600,000 donors, his campaign says.

McCain, by contrast, is taking an $84-million grant of federal tax money to run his fall campaign. He also can use about $19 million in RNC money. Additionally, the RNC and various state parties can spend unlimited sums in independent campaigns on the nominee’s behalf.

Despite Obama’s record fundraising pace, McCain is not with his resources, thanks to the Republican National Committee itself. In addition to the $27 million McCain raised in July, the RNC raised $26 million.

McCain and the GOP had slightly more in the bank at the end of July than Obama and the DNC and its various committees, $96 million to $94.3 million.

Then there are the parties ...

The Federal Election Commission counted money raised by the national parties, their state counterparts and the main committees established to fund Senate and congressional races.

Overall, the main national Republican committees have raised $409 million and have $119 million in the bank, compared with the Democrats’ $351million raised and $117.5 million in the bank.

The FEC noted that despite its lead, the Republican total is down by 12% from what it was four years ago, when the GOP controlled the presidency and both houses of Congress. Democrats fundraising is up 26%, largely on the strength of fundraising by their Senate and congressional leaders.

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee raised $93.3 million to the Republican Senatorial Committee’s $58.8 million. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee raised $109 million through the end of June, compared with the Republican National Congressional Committee’s $80.3 million.

-- Dan Morain