$21.5 Million Is a Record for McCain

The New York Times reports:

Senator John McCain’s presidential campaign raised at least $21.5 million in May — its best fund-raising month yet — in a sign that its effort to draw donations in tandem with the Republican National Committee is yielding dividends.

The two organizations raised a combined $45 million last month, campaign officials said Thursday. That left the campaign with $31.5 million in the bank at month’s end and the Republican National Committee with $53.6 million, much of which can be used to help Mr. McCain.

Mr. McCain’s organization struggled to raise money for much of the campaign, and even his record take — at least $3 million more than his previous best, in April — is less than Senator Barack Obama has been raising in recent months. Mr. Obama reported raising $31 million in April, for instance, and ended that month with $37.3 million on hand. The Obama campaign has not yet released its May numbers.

But after Mr. McCain became the presumptive Republican nominee, his campaign began raising money in conjunction with the Republican National Committee and several state parties. That has allowed some well-off donors to write checks of as much as $70,000 — far more than the $2,300 maximum that can be given to a general election campaign — with the money then split among the campaign and state and national parties.

The Republican National Committee has been far more successful at raising money this year than the Democratic National Committee, giving the McCain campaign hope that it will be able to compete on even terms should it continue to raise less than Mr. Obama.