Money chase likely to continue in U.S. eletions

(Xinhua)

08:45, August 13, 2012

WASHINGTON, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Presidential elections are costly, and candidates usually do their best to raise cash.

This year's election cycle is no exception as President Barack Obama and his Republican challenger Mitt Romney are spending the bulk of their time wooing donors to fund their campaigns.

In a change of the tactics of talking directly to voters, both presidential candidates have been engaged in face-to-face meetings with donors to seek a financial edge over one another.

According to White House schedules, Obama attended 21 fundraisers in July alone, compared with 17 campaign events aimed at the general public. Romney's figure is reportedly even higher, attending at least 22 fundraisers and about a dozen public events.

The trend has emerged long before the summer. White House schedules have been packed with fundraisers for months, and Obama has attended over 200 of those events since he announced his bid to seek reelection last April.

In comparison, former president George W. Bush, who ran successfully in his reelection bid, held 86 fundraisers in the 14.5 months since he filed for reelection on May 16, 2003 through July 2004, according to an article written by Karl Rove, senior White House advisor to Bush, on the Wall Street Journal early this month.

By starting early, Obama has maintained a money edge over Romney for most of the past year. But his advantage has gradually evaporated after Romney sealed his nomination late April. After three straight months of outraising Obama, Romney stands to heavily outspend the incumbent in the coming autumn.

The Obama campaign and the Democratic National Committee (DNC) raised 75 million U.S. dollars in July. Romney's fundraising number in July is shy of the 106 million dollars he raised in June, but it nevertheless boosts his cash on hand to nearly 186 million dollars, according to figures released by the Romney campaign on Monday.

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（Editor：朱蕤、姚春）

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