Obama's $52 Million in June

There was some whispering around the blogosphere that Barack Obama's money momentum was slowing. Now that the general election had truly begun, it was said, John McCain was proving every bit the human cash machine as his Democratic rival. After all, McCain raised $21 million in May, while Obama's tally fell to just $22 million. Surely, the trend-line was clear, and we'd see a continuation in June. Well, kiss that rumor good-bye. From The Chicago Tribune:

Sen. Barack Obama's campaign raised $52 million in June, his campaign manager said this morning--not quite a record for the high-flying campaign, but close to it. The campaign had raised $55 million in February, during the Democratic primaries.

But it's sill more than twice what Republican rival Sen. John McCain raised during June--$22 million.

Many Americans still have the perception that Obama's large hauls are somehow made up of massive donations from millionaires the likes of Oprah Winfrey, but the average June donation came in at a whopping $64. Have a calculator handy? $52 million divided by $64 equals... That's right, 812,500 donated to Obama in June.

But there's a silver lining for the GOP. The RNC has has out-raised the DNC so that even with Obama's huge advantage in June, the RNC/McCain cash-on-hand total stands at $100 million The DNC/Obama total is $92 million. While a good chunk of the money that has been raised for the respective parties will go directly to help the presidential candidates, a lot of it will be poured into competitive, lower-ticket races.