Surging Romney Cash Race Nearly Ties Obama in April

After months of trailing President Obama’s fundraising, Mitt Romney almost caught up last month. Together with the RNC, he raised $40.1 million, just under Obama’s $43.6 million raised in combination with the DNC. Romney’s huge fundraising improvement—he raised just $12.6 million in March—can be attributed to the fact that he drew more donors to him by seemingly securing the GOP nomination, as well as the fact that the party itself can receive larger donations, the New York Times reports.

And that amount could be even higher this month: An aide notes that Romney and the RNC announced their joint “Victory” campaign on April 4 but did not hold an event together until April 14. Romney has a long way to go—at the end of March, Obama had 10 times Romney’s cash on hand—but he will also have help from super PACs and other outside groups, which Democrats fear will give him the money advantage. (And Obama’s April haul represented a $10 million drop from March.)