Politics

Mitt Romney and the Republican National Committee will start raising money together, as President Obama already does with the Democratic Party.

Andrea Saul, a spokeswoman for the Romney campaign, said the joint fundraising effort is all about being being prepared to take on Obama in the fall.

President Obama has stepped up his fundraising pace, amassing $45 million for his re-election and the Democratic National Committee in February, his campaign announced Monday.

The haul outpaces the $29.1 million Obama raised for himself and the Democratic Party in January. It still trails what he collected at this point four years ago as he made his first bid for the White House.

Financial disclosure forms filed with the Federal Election Commission Tuesday show GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney and the super PAC supporting his candidacy raising millions of dollars more than his rivals, while also outspending fellow candidates nearly two to one. Romney took in $12 million in February, according to his financial filing, the highest of any GOP presidential candidate. Rick Santorum raised $9 million.

When combined with money raised by their respective super PACs, Romney and his allies took in a total $18.4 million, compared to the $12 million Santorum and his aligned super PAC raised.

No presidential candidate has reached his personal zenith without this: celebrities to vouch for them. They are the glam and glitter of political campaigns, sure to turn even jaded political operatives into fawning celeb watchers.

President Barack Obama has been backed by celebrities such as Tyler Perry, Oprah Winfrey, Cee Lo Green, Tom Hanks, George Clooney, NBA stars and more. Mitt Romney has campaigned with Jeff Foxworthy and is supported by Gene Simmons. Newt Gingrich has Chuck Norris in his corner. Rick Santorum has been endorsed by Dave Mustaine. And hte list goes on.

Nine government watchdog groups called on the 2012 presidential candidates to lift the veil of secrecy that shrouds their biggest fundraisers, the so-called "bundlers" who use their connections to steer millions of dollars from well-heeled donors to the campaigns of their choice.

In letters sent to President Obama and Republican candidates Newt Gingrich, Ron Paul, Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum, the organizations asked that the campaigns disclose specific information about their major bundlers, identifying them by name and stating the precise amounts they raise.

The Obama campaign wants to know if supporters have "got game."

The Chicago-based re-election campaign is offering a chance to go toe-to-toe with President Obama's NCAA tournament picks for bragging rights — and is raising a little money in the process. The campaign is hosting a college basketball bracket challenge on the campaign website and asking supporters to pitch in to help "the President in another big match-up that's happening this year: the one in November."

Mitt Romney raised $11.5 million in February, his campaign announced, edging out a strong fundraising month from his fiercest rival for the Republican presidential nomination, Rick Santorum.

Romney has so far outpaced his GOP rivals in the money race, but Santorum’s February was nearly as fruitful. His campaign announced last week that the former Pennsylvania senator brought in $9 million, relying on more than 100,000 donors online.

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Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum, who has emerged as the chief rival to Mitt Romney, more than doubled his fundraising after winning the Iowa caucuses last month. Romney still raised more money than all of his Republican challengers and continued to receive the most financial support from Wall Street.

A former U.S. senator from Pennsylvania, Santorum raised $4.5 million in January after collecting $2.2 million in the entire last year, Federal Election Commission financial disclosure reports show. Romney brought in more than $6.5 million last month, according to his disclosure report.

The Obama campaign made political fundraising history in 2008, and now aims to break new ground in 2012 with his campaign's creative harnessing of the American public's seemingly boundless fondness for kitschy political souvenirs, from the $5 bumper sticker, to the $15 "golf divot tool," the shamrock-emblazoned $25 "O'Bama" pint glasses, and all the way up to the $450 "State Lapel Pin Collector's Set" — the most expensive item in stock — from the Obama campaign's vast and growing online store.