Romney Said to Raise Up to $14 Million for Campaign in Quarter - BusinessWeek

September 30, 2011, 12:24 AM EDT By Jeanne Cummings and Kristin Jensen

(For more campaign coverage, go to ELECT.)

Sept. 30 (Bloomberg) -- Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney anticipates taking in between $13 million and $14 million in the third quarter for his presidential campaign, according to a person close to the campaign.

The total is still being tallied for the period that ends today, and may vary depending on proceeds from New York fundraisers, said the person who spoke on condition of anonymity because the campaign hasn’t authorized disclosure of figures.

Polls show Romney and Texas Governor Rick Perry are the frontrunners for the Republican presidential nomination, and the so-called money primary may provide momentum for one of their candidacies.

Ryan Williams, a Romney campaign spokesman, wouldn’t comment on specific fundraising estimates, saying only that officials expect to bring in “considerably less” than the $18 million haul from the second quarter.

Because Perry is the governor of a large state, a former Republican Governors Association chairman and a new candidate, “we suspect he will lead the Republican field in fundraising for this quarter,” Williams said in an e-mail.

Perry’s campaign didn’t respond to a phone call and e-mail requesting comment. The campaigns have until Oct. 15 to report their third-quarter tallies to the Federal Election Commission.

Texas Representative Ron Paul, another Republican contender, raised more than $5 million in the period, said Campaign Chairman Jesse Benton in an interview. That tops the $4.5 million Paul brought in last quarter.

All the Republicans will probably lag President Barack Obama, a Democrat. He raised $86 million for the combined total of his campaign and the Democratic National Committee in the second quarter. The campaign is targeting a combined goal of $55 million for the third quarter.

Obama’s campaign spokesman, Ben LaBolt, declined to comment on specific figures for the quarter.

--Editors: Laurie Asseo, Don Frederick

To contact the reporters on this story: Jeanne Cummings in Washington at jcummings21@bloomberg.net; Kristin Jensen in Washington at kjensen@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Mark Silva at msilva34@bloomberg.net

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