Romney Nets $100 Million, Despite GOP Criticism
Romney breaks Republican fundraising record even as he's getting criticized by high-profile conservatives.
| Posted Thursday, July 5, 2012, at 5:30 PM
Photo by Kayana Szymczak/Getty Images
The June numbers are in.
Last month, the Romney campaign netted more than $100 million, beating the record for the most money raised by a Republican candidate in one month, CBS News reports.
Mitt’s camp says the influx came from new donors across the country, though New York, Michigan, and Ohio were among a handful of states that proved surprisingly lucrative. The candidate stumped for his nine-figure sum, holding at least one fundraiser on 18 out of June’s 30 days, including a $50,000-per-head event with Donald Trump and a private retreat in Utah, Salon reminds us.
Romney didn’t beat the all-time campaign record, set by Barack Obama in September 2008, when he raised $150 million, although it looks like he’s out-raised the president for the third consecutive month.
The high numbers are surprising, however, considering the frustration high-profile Republicans are publicizing about their candidate. What began as a trickle last week with a few tweets from Rupert Murdoch encouraging Romney to hire “some real pros,” grew into a deluge, Politico notes. This week, the editorial page of Murdoch’s Wall Street Journal took up the cause, slamming the candidate for failing to develop a message beyond the tagline, “Obama isn’t working.”
Conservative radio talk show host Laura Ingraham joined the fray, attacking Romney’s decision to take a week off at his New Hampshire vacation home. “Should Romney call the ceasefire or get out there on the trail and get off the jet ski?”
Another point of contention has been Romney’s approach to last week’s health care decision, and the three-day squabble over whether the law is a “tax” or a “penalty.”
