The presidential campaign of presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney raised more than it took in in July and spent heavily on polling, at nearly $1 million, according to new disclosures filed Monday.
The campaign spent $33 million last month but raised $40 million, $12 million of which was transferred from a fund for major donors; by contrast, the entire apparatus backing President Obama spent $16 million more than it took in.
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Of the money the Romney campaign raised, 41 percent came from those giving $200 or less — an important metric for gauging widespread enthusiasm and the same dollar percentage as Mr. Obama, who has accused Mr. Romney of being the candidate of millionaires.
Large chunks of Mr. Romney’s cash — $6.5 million of his haul — came from elderly or retired voters. This came despite constant Democratic attacks accusing Republicans of wanting to destroy Medicare and Social Security, criticisms that have taken an even greater role in the past weeks and with the choice of Rep. Paul Ryan, Wisconsin Republican, as Mr. Romney’s running mate.
The Romney team spent $1.7 million on payroll for 326 staffers, many of whom are part-time and all of whom have Massachusetts addresses. Mr. Obama’s campaign has nearly 900 staffers in 46 states, indicating a much more decentralized campaign apparatus on the Democrat’s behalf
Mr. Romney spent $15 million on television ads, $4.8 million on mailers, and $1.8 on digital consulting. And — without having the benefit of Air Force One like Mr. Obama does — it spent more than $1 million on air travel.
With Mr. Romney relying early on on a small cadre of supporters who gave the maximum allowed, he ran the risk of accumulating large sums
of cash designated for the general election, which could not be used until he formally became the party’s nominee. But that does not seem to be the case: All but $7 million of the $30 million Mr. Romney’s campaign has on hand appears eligible to be used before the upcoming party convention.
The Republican National Committee, which is the ultimate source of much of the money that Mr. Romney raises from well-heeled supporters, has not yet filed with the Federal Election Commission as of early Thursday evening.
