Obama Raised $53 Million in March

President Obama's campaign announced Monday that the president raised $53 million in March, a combined total that includes fundraising for his reelection effort, the Democratic Party and other campaigns.

The Associated Press reports that Obama has brought in nearly $350 million since the start of his campaign last year, $127 million of which has come in since the start of 2012.

In a video released Monday, campaign manager Jim Messina appealed to supporters "to dig even deeper, work even harder, move even faster" now that Mitt Romney has cemented himself as the president's general election challenger.

Romney, who is now raising money jointly with the RNC, had raised $75 million through the end of February. The RNC raised $13.7 million for the same period. In a turnaround after a flirtation with bankruptcy, the RNC reports that it now has more than $30 million in cash on hand, and $22 million in a "presidential trust" for the party's nominee.

Despite being the incumbent, Obama's campaign has long attempted to take present itself as the fundraising underdog on the campaign trail. In February, Obama's campaign suddenly changed course on super PACs after watching them work in the battle for the GOP nomination. The campaign gave its blessing to the Priorities USA Action PAC after its fundraising numbers for 2011 ($4.4 million) paled in comparison to the $23.6 million the pro-Romney Restore Our Future super PAC raised for the same period.