Romney outraised Obama in June, $106 million to $71 million

Updated, 10:55 a.m.: Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign outraised President Obama by $35 million in June, pulling in $106 million to the incumbent president’s $71 million, according to numbers announced by the campaigns Monday.

It is the second straight month that Romney has outraised the president and should leave the two candidates on close to equal financial footing just three months after Romney secured the Republican nomination.

Romney’s haul is his biggest to date. The Fix and others reported last week that the campaign raised at least $100 million, but this is the first time the campaign has confirmed the figure.

The $106.1 million total includes money raised for Romney’s campaign, the Republican National Committee and a joint fundraising operation (“Romney Victory”) between the two entities. They spent about half that total and have a combined $160 million cash on hand.

“This month’s fundraising is a statement from voters that they want a change of direction in Washington,” said Spencer Zwick, Romney Victory national finance chairman. “Voters of all stripes – Republicans, independents and Democrats – have made it clear that President Obama has not lived up to the promises of his last campaign.”

Obama’s total also includes funds raised for affiliated committees. His campaign, despite also notching its biggest month of the campaign, fired a warning shot when it comes to the race for cash.

“If we lose this election, it will be because we didn’t close the gap enough when we had the chance,” said Obama campaign chief operating officer Ann Marie Habershaw in an e-mail to supporters.

Romney’s $106.1 million, while the biggest monthly fundraising total of the 2012 campaign to date, is well shy of the record for one month. That distinction goes to Obama’s effort in September 2008, when he pulled in $193 million between his campaign and affiliated committees.

Romney has been closing the cash gap quickly, thanks to a surge in fundraising since securing the Republican presidential nomination and heavy early advertising by the Obama campaign. In April and May, the GOP standard-bearer turned a $90 million deficit into a $40 million one ($147 million to $107 million). Obama’s campaign has not released its cash on hand total for the end of June.

Romney outraised Obama for the first time in May, $77 million to $60 million.