Obama outraises Romney in Minnesota
So far, President Barack Obama is winning the Minnesota money race by a landslide.
Since April 2011, Obama has raised $2.2 million from donors in the state - less than 1 percent of the $255 million Obama's campaign has raised throughout the nation, according to the most recent reports filed with the Federal Election Commission yesterday.
Obama's campaign has spent about $150 million so far, according to OpenSecrets.org, a website that tracks political money.
Meanwhile, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney raised $401,000 in Minnesota during the same period of time. All told, Romney has raised $120 million nationally.
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Both candidates can boast big donations from high-profile Minnesotans.
Members of Gov. Mark Dayton's family, the Pohlad family, which owns the Minnesota Twins, and the Cowles family, which owned the Minneapolis Star Tribune, all gave the maximum donation of $5,000.
Meanwhile, former Target CEO Robert Ulrich has given Romney $2,500, and prominent GOP donors David and Sandra Frauenshuh have each given the campaign $2,500.
Obama or his surrogates have made several fundraising trips to the state in the last year, and his campaign has more than 30 staffers working at five offices across the state. Earlier this month, Obama raised an estimated $1.8 million for his campaign, the Democratic National Committee, and several state parties during a one-day blitz through the Twin Cities area.
Meanwhile, Romney's Minnesota operation has been comparatively been low key, with no full-time staff in Minnesota.
The candidates are getting support in other ways, too. For instance, these figures don't include the millions raised and spent by super PACs or non-profits that don't have to disclose their donors. Nor do they include money collected through joint fundraising committees set up by the candidates and the parties.