Romney outraising Obama in Ohio donations

Ohio political donors continue to give more to former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney than President Barack Obama, giving Romney’s campaign $527,105 last month and Obama’s $450,577.

They can add it to their tallies: In all, Romney has raised $4.4 million in Ohio to Obama’s $3.1 million during this political campaign, according to the Federal Election Commission.

Dayton and its suburbs gave $180,175 to Romney and $199,212 to Obama. Springfield, meanwhile, has donated $6,010 to Romney’s campaign to date and $20,024 to Obama.

In Cincinnati and its suburbs, Romney has raised nearly $1.5 million to date, including donations from financial backers of Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, who has been a key Romney supporter. Obama, meanwhile, has raised $752,877 in the Cincinnati area.

Nationally, Romney’s campaign has raised $193 million and Obama has raised $348 million to date, according to the Federal Election Commission. But that’s just for their presidential campaigns. Include national party committees and joint fundraising committees that raise money for both presidential candidates and national parties, Romney raised $101.3 million in July to Obama’s $75 million.

While Obama consistently held a fundraising edge in Ohio during the early months of the campaign, Romney pulled ahead in May and has not lagged Obama since.

Sheila Krumholz, executive director of the Center for Responsive Politics, said while it’s “meaningful,” that Romney has received more donations than Obama in Ohio, she also said that number doesn’t represent donations less than $200, which aren’t itemized on campaign fundraising reports. She said about 40 percent of Obama’s campaign contributions are unitemized; about 17 percent of Romney’s are.

“Obama is much more reliant on small donors,” she said.

Still, she said, “there’s at least a visible strength for the Romney campaign” indicated by his fundraising in Ohio.

Both candidates are duking it out over the three C’s: Cincinnati and Cleveland have been prolific donors to both, with Columbus coming in behind them.

Northeast Ohio donors – including donors in Cleveland, Akron, Youngstown and the suburbs of those cities, have donated more than $1.5 million to Romney and more than $1.19 million to Obama.

Obama, however has a slight edge in central Ohio: Donors have given him $666,132 to date and $598,000 to Romney.

The latest reports, filed late Monday night, cover the period from July 1 through July 31.

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