President Barack Obama raised the most money in North Carolina and the United States among the presidential candidates, and Mitt Romney leads the Republican contenders both statewide and nationwide, according to campaign-contribution reports recently released by the Federal Election Commission.
The latest campaign reports are significant because they cover a period that included several rounds of GOP debates, as well as the immediate run-up to the Iowa caucuses. In North Carolina, the campaign reports show several highlights in the money race:
- Ron Paul, the U.S. representative from Texas, raised more money than Romney in several places, including the Raleigh and Chapel Hill areas.
- Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, received more in the Winston-Salem area than any other GOP candidate.
- Newt Gingrich, the former House speaker, had the largest percentage gain — 362 percent — since Sept. 30, from about $32,000 to nearly $149,000.
- Romney raised more money than Obama in Charlotte, where the Democratic National Convention will be held in September, and which is in one of the most voter-rich counties in the state.
- The entire GOP field, including candidates who have dropped out, raised a combined total that was larger than Obama's haul, but Obama raised more money than the four remaining GOP contenders combined.
Donors in North Carolina increased Obama's campaign chest by more than $1.1 million through Dec. 31, according to the latest campaign contribution reports. Romney, Paul, Gingrich and Rick Santorum, the former Pennsylvania senator, raised a combined total of about $801,000 statewide during the same period.
Obama also leads the money race nationwide, raising about $125.2 million through Dec. 31 while the four GOP candidates raised a combined $96.8 million.
"President Obama's fundraising shows very strong grass-roots support in North Carolina and across the country," said Cameron French, Obama's North Carolina campaign spokesman, noting that the campaign has had 1.3 million donors, including more than 200,000 new donors in the fourth quarter, with the average donation totaling $55.
"While the GOP candidates are battling it out for the nomination, our campaign is working to mobilize our supporters and build a strong strategic organization on the ground," French said.
In several places, including the areas of Winston-Salem, Greensboro, Raleigh, Chapel Hill-Cary, Durham and Wilmington, Obama received more money than any of the Republican candidates.
In the Winston-Salem area, for example, contributors sent him more than $25,000. Romney received $19,275 from the Winston-Salem area, the highest amount among GOP candidates. Paul raised about $5,200. Gingrich got $3,700, and Santorum got no money from the area, according to the FEC.
Among the GOP contenders, Romney raised the most money, but the fundraising gap between him and Paul was relatively slim. Romney raised nearly $353,000 statewide, compared with Paul's bounty of nearly $285,000. Meanwhile, Gingrich pulled in nearly $149,000, and Santorum got about $15,000.
Donors in North Carolina sent more money to the entire GOP field than to Obama, said Rob Lockwood, the communications director for the N.C. GOP.
When the amounts of former candidates, including business executive Herman Cain and Texas Gov. Rick Perry, are included, the GOP candidates raised a combined amount of nearly $1.15 million, compared with Obama's $1.14 million.
"All those candidates had to come in and say who they were and what they stood for, so when you look at all the people who have run this cycle, our candidates as a whole have outperformed President Obama with campaign investors in this state," Lockwood said.
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