Romney outspends all 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.

Clinton led the money race despite having to contend with a scandal involving one of her top fundraisers, Norman Hsu. He is in jail in San Mateo County on a 15-year-old state grand-theft charge, and faces federal investigations into his financial dealings and fundraising activities.

Clinton’s campaign recently announced it was returning more than $800,000 Hsu had raised from about 250 people.

Giuliani’s campaign also disclosed that he had given some money back: seven donations of $9.11 each, and one for $911. One of his supporters had sent out an e-mail seeking the $9.11 donations in commemoration of the 2001 terrorist attacks. Giuliani’s aides denounced the gimmick.

Giuliani has relied on Wall Street for much of his money. Of the $11.4 million he brought in during the third quarter, $3.2 million came from New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.

Former Sen. Fred Thompson (R-Tenn.), who entered the race last month, disclosed Monday that he had $7.1 million in the bank for the primaries, after raising $12.8 million in the last four months.

Thompson, among the top GOP candidates in national polls, raised more than $6 million -- twice as much as Giuliani -- in the South, long a major source of Republican votes. Thompson’s Southern take accounted for nearly half of his total. Thompson raised $2.7 million from his home state.

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), whose campaign is flagging, raised $5.7 million in the third quarter, had $3.5 million on hand, and had $1.7 million in debt.

The campaigns’ financial disclosure reports for the quarter ending Sept. 30 were the last they must file before voting begins three months from now in Iowa and New Hampshire.

The most costly aspect of any campaign is traditionally TV advertising. According to a survey released Monday by Nielsen Monitor-Plus, Democrats have aired nearly 16,700 spots this year, compared with 12,050 by Republicans. About 71% of all of the candidates’ ads have aired in Iowa.

Among the Democratic presidential candidates, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson -- who is trailing in polls and in the money race, with $5.8 million in the bank -- has aired the most ads. Nearly all of his 5,975 spots have aired in Iowa, Nielsen said.

Obama aired 4,300 spots, the second-highest number among Democrats. Clinton’s total was half that.

Romney’s dominance of the airwaves -- he accounted for nearly 11,000 of the GOP spots that ran Jan. 1 to Oct. 10 -- has vaulted him into serious contention in Iowa and New Hampshire, the states planning to kick off 2008 balloting.

“The early ads worked in the sense that it got his [poll] numbers up and got him name recognition in the absence of anyone else on the airwaves,” said Dante Scala, a professor at the University of New Hampshire. “Now the campaign is looking for some traction, frankly, for the next boost.”

Nielsen Senior Vice President Brian Lane noted that eight years ago, candidate George W. Bush aired his first ad 821 days before the November election.

Romney’s first ad appeared 622 days before election day 2008.

dan.morain@latimes.com

mark.barabak@latimes.com

Morain reported from Los Angeles, Barabak from San Francisco. Times researchers Maloy Moore and Sandra Poindexter contributed to this report.