Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney greets supporters in Manchester on Tuesday after winning the New Hampshire primary. (Emmanuel Dunand / AFP / Getty Images) |
Mitt Romney raised $24 million in last year’s final fundraising period, the most lucrative quarter yet for the GOP front-runner, his campaign announced Wednesday.
That brings his total fundraising haul for 2011 to $56 million. He ended the year with $19 million in the bank.
All of the donations were collected for his campaign for the Republican nomination, meaning those same donors can give again for the general election. And none of the funds came from Romney himself — a marked change from his 2008 run, when the former Massachusetts governor ultimately loaned his campaign $45 million.
“Mitt Romney’s growing financial support is representative of the growing momentum for our campaign,” said Spencer Zwick, Romney's finance chairman, said in a statement. “In order to defeat President Obama in November, we will need this continued strong showing of support.”
The fourth-quarter numbers add to Romney’s climbing cash advantage in the Republican primary. Rep. Ron Paul brought in $13 million, and former Speaker Newt Gingrich is expected to report about $10 million raised, although his campaign is still carrying debt from lean fundraising months earlier in the year.
The campaigns of Texas Gov. Rick Perry and former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman have not yet released their fundraising figures.
melanie.mason@latimes.com
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