Rick Santorum trails 2012 rivals in fundraising

Rick Santorum has long suggested he was compelled to run for president by his fellow Republicans, but donors don't seem to be as enthusiastic about his 2012 bid.

According to a report filed today with the Federal Election Commission, the former Pennsylvania senator raised just over $582,000 for his presidential campaign between April and June, ending last month with roughly $229,000 in the bank.

That's the lowest haul of any of the main 2012 GOP contenders—but Santorum's campaign tried to spin the numbers, arguing the ex-senator has made a "solid" start on the money front.

"It is worth noting that Senator Santorum didn't hold his first official fundraiser until June 22, and between that day and June 30, he raised nearly half of the money he raised as an official presidential candidate," Amanda Kornegay, Santorum's finance director, said in a statement.

But that explanation doesn't exactly fly. As The Ticket previously reported, Santorum filed a "testing the waters" committee in mid-April, which allowed to him to begin raising cash for a 2012 bid. The money, according to Santorum's FEC report, just didn't materialize in the way it has for other GOP candidates.