The WSJ had a blog item up Friday on the fundraising of both McCain and Obama. Here’s their take on McCain:
Sen. McCain’s camp announced yesterday it raised more than $22 million in June — its biggest fundraising month so far — and argued that, with help from the Republican National Committee, it has more than enough resources to compete against the Illinois senator, The Hill reports. Sen. McCain’s campaign and the RNC combined have about $95 million cash on hand entering July, campaign manager Rick Davis said, adding he expects to have $400 million, including money now in the bank and another $84.1 million in taxpayer funds to spend starting September, Bloomberg writes. Sen. McCain’s campaign is benefiting from the RNC’s growing fundraising edge over the Democratic National Committee. As Congressional Quarterly points out, at the end of May, the RNC had more than 10 times as much money in the bank as the DNC.
And here’s what they had to say on Obama:
Sen. Obama has yet to release his June numbers, but people close to the fund-raising operation say the total will likely be just over $30 million, the Wall Street Journal writes, noting that “while this isn’t a poor showing, it is an underwhelming haul for a campaign that has ballooned in recent months [and] has promised a true, 50-state electioneering effort.” Since the end of his primary fight with Sen. Hillary Clinton — during which he raised a staggering $287 million — Sen. Obama started drawing up plans for extensive advertising and voter-turnout drives. His expected fundraising advantage over his Republican rival allowed him to send paid staff members to all states, in an attempt to put Sen. McCain on the defensive and force him to spend time — and money — in states that usually go Republican, therefore making Sen. McCain less competitive in the big swing states. Mid-June, the Democratic candidate released his first national television ad that will run in swing states like Missouri, Florida and Pennsylvania, but also in Alaska, Montana and North Carolina — states that Sen. McCain has to carry to have a chance to win.
The Obama team is disputing the WSJ’s account:
Asked about the newspaper’s figure, Obama’s communications director, Robert Gibbs, said it was “way off the mark.”
Asked if he meant it was more, he said he did. The campaign probably would not issue the June figure until close to the filing deadline of July 20, Gibbs added.
It will be interesting to see what exactly the number is on the 20th. I’d bet on the WSJ’s account being more accurate than not.





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