Michael Toner Discusses Romney Raising more Money than Obama

Wiley Rein Election Law & Government Ethics Practice co-chair Michael Toner was interviewed by The Washington Post after July fundraising totals were released showing Mitt Romney hauled in more money than President Obama for a third straight month.

The Post reported that “the former Massachusetts governor outraised Obama by more than $25 million last month, the campaign announced Monday, collecting just over $101 million. Obama’s campaign announced that it brought in $75 million, closing the gap slightly compared with June, when his Republican challenger raised $106 million to Obama’s $71 million.”

“More candidate time is being spent on fundraising in this presidential election than we’ve ever seen before,” said Mr. Toner, who was general counsel for George W. Bush’s 2000 campaign and a former chairman of the Federal Election Commission. “We have a 50-50 nation, and every couple million dollars that you have on hand in October could be the difference in Ohio or Florida or any of these swing states.”

Mr. Toner added: “In the old days, there would be relatively few fundraising events in the August-to-October time frame. Those days are over.”