Obama has strongest fundraising month of campaign, but Romney still tops him

WASHINGTON — Mitt Romney and the Republican Party claimed victory in the money race last month, outraising President Barack Obama and the Democratic Party by $35 million, according to figures put out by both campaigns Monday.

Obama and the Democratic National Committee had their strongest fundraising month of the campaign in June, reeling in a combined $71 million from more than 706,000 individual donors.

But that wasn’t enough to surpass Romney, who, along with the Republican National Committee and several state parties, pulled in $106.1 million, marking the second consecutive month the presumptive GOP nominee’s combined fundraising efforts outpaced those of the incumbent president. (In May, Romney’s joint fundraising pulled in $76.8 million, topping Obama’s combined take of $60 million).

The nine-figure haul propelled Romney to his best fundraising month yet, as the former Massachusetts governor continued to capitalize on the large checks, up to $75,800, he can now solicit through joint fundraising with the Republican Party and affiliated committees.

The total also was boosted by the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold Obama’s health care law; a Romney spokesperson claimed $4.6 million — mostly in small donations — came into the joint fundraising effort in the 24 hours following the decision. The Obama campaign has said it too received a flood of donations after the health care ruling, but it has not specified the amount.