Romney has best month in fundraising, topping $12.5M

Mitt Romney collected more than $12.5 million in March and has $10.1 million in the bank as the general election ramps up, his campaign announced Friday.

The presumptive GOP nominee’s March haul represented a slight uptick from February, when he raised just under $12 million. The campaign said it was the best fundraising month of the campaign so far.

All told, the former Massachusetts governor has raised $87 million for his primary campaign, with no debt holding him back. Romney, who put tens of millions of his own money into the race in 2008, has yet to make any personal loans or donations to his efforts to win the GOP nomination and unseat President Obama in November.

{mosads}“Mitt Romney’s continued strong fundraising shows that voters across the country are tired of the failures from President Obama,” said Spencer Zwick, Romney’s national finance director, in a statement. “We will continue the hard work to raise the necessary funds to defeat President Obama and change the direction of the country.”

With an overwhelming lead in delegates and his main rival — Rick Santorum — no longer in the race, Romney has been suiting up for the general election and setting his sights on the White House even though the primary process is technically still taking place.

Romney has started joint fundraising with the Republican National Committee, and the putative nominee is huddling this week with GOP leaders at a summit in Arizona as the party gears up for the fight against Obama. Romney is also bulking up his campaign apparatus, bringing on high-profile strategists, regional staff and a speechwriter.

Earlier Friday, Ron Paul announced he had raised almost $2.6 million in March, leaving him with about $1.8 million on hand and no debt. His campaign said his ample funds and productive money bombs would give him the resources he needs to be competitive in Texas, where Paul is focusing his efforts.