(Newser)
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Mitt Romney widened his financial edge over President Obama last month, raising more and spending less as super PACs did much of his dirty work. The Obama campaign and DNC raised a combined $75 million in July, but spent $91 million, the New York Times reports. About $40 million of that went to advertising, while the rest went to buy infrastructure and pay salaries for the campaign's much-vaunted ground operation.
The result: Democrats have just $124 million in the bank. Republicans, on the other hand, have $186 million, after a blockbuster June and July that saw Romney and the RNC raise more than $200 million. At the same time, Romney spent less on advertising, and let loyal super PACs fill the gap. Romney's most notable PAC, Restore Our Future, raised $7.4 million in July, while Obama's Priorities USA raised just $4.8 million. The Times also notes one of Romney's more amusing expenditures: $500 spent at Chick-fil-A, in what the campaign called a "meeting expense."
