While Pawlenty relies on Minnesota donors, Romney by far leads GOP candidates in fundraising

As the presidential campaign season heats up, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney has vastly outraised his Republican rivals, none of whom managed to raise a quarter of the funds he’s collected.

Raised this election by June 30, 2011 In bank on June 30, 2011 Individuals Political Action Committees (PACs) Barack Obama $48,206,003 $37,110,346 $32,727,225 $0 Mitt Romney $18,383,880 $12,715,495 $18,234,222 $91,500 Tim Pawlenty $4,452,341 $2,001,090 $4,425,838 $59,566 Michele Bachmann $3,639,723* $3,379,067 $1,639,723 $0 Ron Paul $4,518,948 $2,966,177 $4,518,436 $0 All data comes from Federal Election Commission July quarterly reports.

*Includes a $2 million transfer from Bachmann’s congressional fund.

Romney’s total haul for this election cycle is $18.3 million. So far, Romney has relied largely on big donors, with only six percent of his funds coming from people who gave $200 or less, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. While Romney did well in the usual states of California, New York and Texas, he got a $1.3 million boost from Utah residents, according to reports from the Federal Election Commission.

Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty raised $4.45 million, slightly less than U.S. Rep. Ron Paul. But Pawlenty relied largely on big donors. Only 10 percent of Pawlenty’s funds came from people who donated $200 or less; Paul raised half his money from small donors, according to data from the Center for Responsive Politics. Pawlenty is also relying heavily on his connections in Minnesota, having raised a quarter of his funds from citizens of the state, according to Federal Election Commission reports.

U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann raised $4.2 million so far in this election, although more than $2.5 million of that total was raised in her congressional fund, not her presidential fund. A $2 million transfer to her presidential fund on June 30 brought her presidential fund up to $3.6 million in fundraising this election. Bachmann has performed solidly in Minnesota, bringing in more than $60,000 from the state, which is still only about a quarter of what President Barack Obama has raised in Minnesota.

Even all the Republican candidates put together haven’t raised as much money as Obama, who has collected $48 million so far this election cycle. He’s also leveraged a much greater proportion of funds from small donors who gave less than $200 (44 percent of his individual funds), rather than the big donors that most of his Republican challengers have relied upon.