Mitt Romney outdoes rivals in February fundraising, as Gingrich faces major debts

When Mitt Romney woke up in Chicago on Tuesday morning, he realized that he didn't have a clean shirt to wear—at least nothing that was suitable for the event he was about to headline for his 2012 campaign.

"I did not have any shirts that were appropriate for a fundraiser," Romney explained in an online chat with voters Tuesday sponsored by Google. "So I had to wash out my shirt in the sink. And then I thought, 'How am I going to get this thing dried fast enough?' So I got the iron out. It took 20 minutes to iron it out dry."

Romney's story was an attempt to explain what life is like on the road for a presidential candidate and cast himself as regular guy. But it was also a revealing look at how much time Romney is devoting to raising cash on the campaign trail.

As he struggles to fend off his rivals for the GOP nomination, Romney has maintained a rigorous schedule of public campaigning and private fundraising events to keep his 2012 bid afloat. According to finance reports filed with the Federal Election Commission late Tuesday, Romney raised nearly $12 million in February—one of his best fundraising months ever. And while his campaign spent big—$12.4 million—Romney ended the month with nearly $7.3 million in the bank and no debt, a better financial position than what his GOP rivals reported.

Rick Santorum also enjoyed one of his best fundraising months ever, bringing in just over $9 million in contributions, based on a surge of support after his victories in Missouri, Minnesota and Colorado. But he also spent $7.9 million, ending the month with just $2.6 million in the bank and $922,448 in debts—roughly half of which is owed to the firm linked to his top political strategist John Brabender.

But Santorum was in a better position than Newt Gingrich, whose back-from-the-dead campaign lurched dangerously into the red in February. According to FEC reports, Gingrich raised just $2.6 million last month and spent $2.8 million. He reported $1.5 million cash on hand but also $1.6 million in debts.

According to Gingrich's FEC report, his campaign paid more than $100,000 in fees to a myriad of political consultants; several hundred thousand in polling and telemarketing costs—including nearly $28,000 it lists as "in dispute" with the Winston Group—and nearly $200,000 in costs related to ads, including $15,000 to Twitter for a "media buy."

Meanwhile, Ron Paul brought in $3.3 million, spent $3.5 million and ended the month with $1.4 million and no debt.

While Gingrich's financial position is the most precarious of the Republican contenders, his candidacy has been kept alive thanks to help from Winning Our Future, a political action committee that has spent millions running ads to boost the former House speaker's campaign. According its FEC report, the super PAC raised $5.7 million in February, almost entirely from casino magnate Sheldon Adelson and his family—and spent roughly $5.8 million. It's unclear if the group will spend more to keep Gingrich's chances alive.

The Red, White and Blue Fund, a super PAC supporting Santorum, raised $2.9 million in February—the bulk of it from three donors, including Wyoming investor Foster Freiss, who contributed $600,000; Texas energy executive William J. Dore, who contributed $500,000; and Annette Simmons, wife of Texas financier and mega GOP donor Harold Simmons, who contributed $1 million. The super PAC spent $3.2 million to boost Santorum, ending the February with just under $365,000 in the bank.

But just as Romney is out-raising his rivals, Restore Our Future, the super PAC supporting his bid, is taking in more cash than committees supporting his opponents. According to its FEC report, the group raised about $6.4 million in February and spent $12.2 million. Nearly half of its cash came in the form of a single $3 million check from Bob Perry, a Texas home builder who has contributed tens of millions of dollars to Republican candidates, party committees and outside PACs in recent years—including $7 million to American Crossroads, a super PAC affiliated with former Bush strategist Karl Rove, in 2010.

This isn't Perry's first contribution to Restore Our Future. Last year, he contributed two $500,000 checks to the pro-Romney super PAC.

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