Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Romney outspends presidential rivals

Republican Mitt Romney has spent more money, $52 million, and aired more television ads in his quest to become president than any other candidate has, a survey and campaign finance reports released Monday show.

Still, national polls have former Massachusetts Gov. Romney lagging behind former New York Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani in the race for the Republican nomination.

According to reports filed Monday with the Federal Election Commission, Romney has amassed more than $61 million, including $17.35 million he has lent his campaign. He ended the third quarter of 2007 with $9.2 million in the bank, compared with $16 million for Giuliani, who has collected $47.2 million overall, the FEC reports show.

Those cash-on-hand totals paled in comparison with those of the leading Democratic candidates. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York, the party's front-runner in polls, reported having $50 million in the bank and raising $80 million. Her closest rival, Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, had $36 million of the $78 million he raised left.

Former Sen. John Edwards (D-N.C.) ended the quarter with $12.4 million in the bank, after raising $29.9 million in the first nine months of the year.