The Obama campaign has spent $15.3 million on polling alone in this election cycle — in a pattern of high spending that has some Democrats concerned.
According to The Wall Street Journal, 778 campaign staffers for President Barack Obama received payroll checks in June, accounting for $2.9 million in wages before tax costs, records show. To date, the Obama camp has spent more than $25 million on payroll.
It spent $38.2 million on media buys last month, bringing its total this election to more than $72 million, The Journal reports.
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About $2.6 million was spent on polling in June alone. Some $4 million has been invested in polling this election, with the Democratic National Party contributing $11.3 million to opinion surveys since the start of 2011.
That means, the Obama campaign, in conjunction with the DNP, has so far $15.3 on polling alone.
But some Democrats are concerned about the high Obama overhead – particularly as GOP challenger Mitt Romney continues to best him in fundraising. So far, Romney and the Republican Party have raised $170 million as of June 30, compared with $147 million for the president.
“The burn rate, the investment in infrastructure and polling, is great if you've got the resources to follow through,” said pollster Douglas Schoen, who served former President Bill Clinton. “It's unclear to me whether the president has the resources.”
Romney also stands to benefit from spending by independent super PACs, which are free to collect contributions of unlimited size. These outside groups are expected to raise hundreds of millions of dollars for TV ads attacking President Obama.
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