Romney spent $12 million in February, ended it with $7.3 million on hand

Mitt Romney’s campaign spent slightly more than it brought in during the month of February and ended the month with $7.3 million cash on hand.

Romney’s campaign announced the cash figure Thursday; on Wednesday, it announced that it had raised $11.5 million for the month.

The former Massachusetts governor’s spending dropped off significantly from January, when his campaign spent $18.8 million on the first four contests in the GOP presidential race and brought in just $6.5 million.

February included fewer marquee contests than January and afforded Romney more time to recover his financial advantage. Besides a non-competitive caucus in Nevada and Romney’s losses in Colorado and Minnesota a few days later, it didn’t feature a major contest until the end of the month, when Romney won primaries in both Arizona and Michigan.

But Romney still spent a significant amount of money, including ramping up early for the Super Tuesday states.

The cash on hand total doesn’t include the six days before Super Tuesday, in which Romney spent heavily to assure victory in Ohio.

Rick Santorum’s campaign has said it raised $9 million in February but hasn’t released a cash on hand number. Santorum has had significantly less cash than Romney, who has outraised him $75 million to $16 million.