Washington:
US President Barack Obama raised a combined $43.6 million in April for his campaign and the Democratic Party as he faces a Republican effort that's rallying around Mitt Romney for the White House.
Mr Obama's monthly fundraising haul fell short of the $53 million he raised in March. His campaign said that more than 400,000 people contributed to the campaign last month, including 169,000 new donors.
"This election is going to be close, given the historic challenges this country faced when the President came into office," campaign manager Jim Messina told supporters in a YouTube video released today.
Presidential campaigns and super PACs (Political Action Committee) have time till Sunday midnight to file their fundraising reports with the Federal Election Commission. The general election is in November.
Mr Obama's fundraising announcement came the same day the Republican group Crossroads GPS said it would spend $25 million on ads critical of the President.
Crossroads is the non-profit arm of American Crossroads, a "super" political committee backed by the former George W. Bush adviser Karl Rove that has raised about $100 million in this election to defeat Mr Obama.
Messina's message pointed to the millions of dollars being spent on anti-Obama ads by so-called special interests and oil company executives, specifically calling out the Koch brothers, who founded Americans For Prosperity.
That group has spent about $5 million on ads so far critical of Mr Obama.
While Mr Romney and the Republicans have super PACs working in their favor, so does Mr Obama. Priorities USA Action on Tuesday released a video critical of Bain Capital, the firm Mr Romney once headed.
But Democratic super PACs have raised and spent less on average than their Republican counterparts, including Restore Our Future, which supports Romney.
Mr Obama's campaign and the Democratic Party had about $124 million cash on hand at the end of March, while Mr Romney and the Republican Party reported $43 million left in the bank at the end of March, federal reports show.