Seven clowns running for president (Joel Page/Reuters)
President Obama doesn't need to officially file his initial 2012 FEC fundraising report until July 15, but when he does it will almost certainly show that he outraised not just Mitt Romney but the also entire Republican field—and Republican insiders
say they are worried:
Republicans have long anticipated being out-gunned by Obama on the fundraising front, but the breadth of the disparity is now coming into plainer sight—and it has some party veterans worried about what they see as a lack of urgency over the cash gap.
“There’s not any doubt that Obama is going to raise more money than anybody has ever raised running for president,” said Henry Barbour, RNC committeeman for Mississippi and the governor’s nephew. “Is that sobering? Sure it is. It’s a wake-up call.”
Leading the list of GOP concerns: Mitt Romney. As Jonathan Martin and Alexander Burns write:
The likelihood of a canyon-sized money gap with Obama was driven home most vividly by Romney’s less-than-anticipated take. After claiming to raise over $10 million during an all-day call-a-thon in May, his campaign reported raising less than twice that for the entire quarter. If the former Massachusetts governor – who has effectively been running for president for five years and has a network of donors in the financial community, the Mormon church and in the ranks of regular Republican givers who believe he’s their strongest candidate – can’t even raise $20 million, how will he ever match a sitting president?
The simple answer is, Mitt Romney won't be able to match Barack Obama—because he won't be the nominee. Republicans who are worried about his fundraising totals are wasting their time. Money isn't their problem, especially in the wake of Citizens United. They're going to have more than enough to compete effectively in 2012.
The only question is whether they are going to have an electable candidate. So far, the signs point to no. And nothing makes that more clear than the fact that the only candidate with any momentum on the GOP side is Michele Bachmann.