Mitt Romney raises big cash, but trails rivals among small donors

Mitt Romney raised more cash than any of his GOP rivals between April and June, but he lagged behind competitors in one important measurement: support from small-dollar contributors.

Per the Center for Responsive Politics, just 6 percent of the $18.4 million Romney raised during the last three months came from donors who contributed $200 or less.

By comparison, more than two-thirds of the $1.6 million Michele Bachmann raised as a presidential candidate came from small donors. (There's a chance her percentage could even be higher since that total does not include the $2 million Bachmann transferred from her congressional campaign account, which also raised big money in small contributions.)

Ron Paul, Herman Cain and Newt Gingrich raised nearly half their cash from donors of $200 or less. Meanwhile, 24 percent of Rick Santorum's cash and 10 percent of Tim Pawlenty's cash came via small contributors.

Why is this important? While big-dollar bundlers are responsible for paying most of a campaign's expenses, small donors are often a test of a candidate's strength with the grassroots.

President Obama's campaign raised roughly half of the $47 million it brought in between April and June from small contributors. But that's just a small portion of what Obama has raised for his 2012 re-election bid.

As The Ticket previously reported, the president raised another $38 million for the Obama Victory Fund, a joint fundraising account his campaign set up with the Democratic National Committee. On Friday, his campaign revealed 244 bundlers who have raised more than $50,000 a piece for his campaign and OVF. The list included 27 donors who each raised more than $500,000 for Obama's re-election effort, with the bulk of that cash being split between the campaign and OVF.

According to CRP, just one percent of the joint fundraising account's contributions between April and May came from donors of $200 or less.