Romney bests President Obama in May fundraising, raising nearly $77 million

Story by YahooNews
Written by Holly Bailey

Mitt Romney outraised President Barack Obama by nearly $17 million in May, the first time the Republican nominee has bested his Democratic opponent in 2012 fundraising.

The GOP candidate brought in a combined $76.8 million last month for his campaign and the Romney Victory Fund, a joint account between the Romney campaign and the Republican National Committee (RNC).

By comparison, the 'Obama for America' campaign announced it had raised roughly $60 million in May for the campaign and the Democratic National Committee (DNC).

May's total marks Romney's best fundraising month to date—assisted by the fact that it was his first full month to raise funds jointly with the RNC.

While the President has been raising money for both his campaign and the DNC for months, the presumptive Republican nominee merged fundraising operations with the RNC only in mid-April. 

The move allows him to raise as much as $75,000 apiece from individuals, who write checks not just to the RNC and the Romney campaign, but to a series of accounts set up with state parties.