The Mitt Romney campaign announced its fundraising haul for the second quarter of 2011 -- an impressive $18.25 million. This dwarfs the funds raised by his competitors. Tim Pawlenty brought in a disappointing $4.2 million for the second quarter, while Jon Huntsman raised $4.1 million, half of which came from his personal fortune. Ron Paul outperformed both Huntsman and Pawlenty with a $4.5 million, but even this places him at a distant second.
"Voters are responding to Mitt Romney's message that President Obama's policies have failed and that we need new leadership in Washington," said Spencer Zwick, Romney's national finance chairman, in a statement. "Our fundraising for the second quarter represents the strong support Mitt Romney has across the country."
Of course, Romney's fundraising is actually down from where it was this time four years ago, by which time he had raised over $23 million. If we're using fundraising to gauge political support, the Romney of 2007 was even more popular than the Romney of today. Unfortunately for the former Massachusetts governor, this wasn't enough to secure the Republican nomination, and Romney eventually lost to Senator John McCain.
Healthy fundraising is a necessary part of winning a presidential nomination, but it isn't the only part, and Romney's (relative) success doesn't actually say anything about his overall chances. In fact, his weaker-than-expected fundraising might be a sign of vulnerability; if Romney were a lock for the nomination, then money and endorsements would be flowing in his direction. That this hasn't happened suggests indecision among GOP donors, who might be waiting to evaluate another candidate (in particular, Texas governor Rick Perry) before making a choice.
