Obama outpacing Republicans in contributions

On Saturday, the first report on how much money the Republican presidential candidates have raised was published. The information raised by the various campaigns reveals that Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney and Texas Governor Rick Perry have generated more than $30 million combined for their campaigns.

WASHINGTON DC (Catholic Online) - The other candidates such as Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum, and businessman Herman Cain have raised much less.

The reports reveal who the Republican have and have-nots are. This understanding is important as the candidates race into the final weeks before the start of the primaries.

While Romney and Perry have $30 million between them, President Obama is beating both contenders combined with a whopping $70 million on hand.

Other candidates have debts to pay, such as former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman, and Tim Pawlenty. Both men owe hundreds of thousands of dollars apiece.

Texas Representative Ron Paul, the darling of the Libertarian party, enjoys the support of a solid base and with that he has collected $8.2 million and spent $7.5 million so far. At the end of September, his campaign reported $3.6 million on hand and no debt.

The report also showed if candidates took out loans to finance their campaign. Herman Cain loaned his own campaign $675,000, most of which was spent last spring.

At this stage in the race, money can mean the difference between success and failure. More money means more travel and more promotion. Promoting a political candidate is very expensive which makes targeting key groups all that much more important. In this, President Obama has a tremendous advantage. Last week news sources reported that his campaign was making use of sophisticated cutting-edge databasing technology to target voters. Such technology would allow the Obama campaign to spend their money far more efficiently than his Republican counterparts.

EXTRA: Obama's secret weapon.

For now, Romney and Perry have the financial advantage among Republicans, but it appears that Cain has considerable upward inertia and is enjoying a surge in popularity. With that popularity comes marketing buzz. That buzz may help close the gap--or extend it, at least in some states--between Cain and the other candidates.

So far, data for Minnesota Representitive Michele Bachmann, and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, has been released. Both campaigns were expected to meet a Saturday deadline for the information. It is expected that Bachmann will announce that she has raised at least $4 million.

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