The Occasional Observer

Romney is leading the GOP, within reach of Hillary:

Ex-MA Gov. Mitt Romney raised $23M this quarter, more than enough to top the field of Republican contenders.

That Romney was able to squeeze so many low hanging fruit sources in what has inarguably been a rough political quarter for him speaks highly of the relationships he’s cultivated over these years. It's also a testament to his fundraising team, led by Spencer Zwick, and the campaign's technologically advanced ComMitt activism platform. All Romney's money was raised into his primary campaign accounts.

Romney's burn rate -- tbd.

We await Sen. John McCain to report in. That might happen tomorrow.

His advisers are steeling themselves for a sobering number. Our educated estimate is that, of the top tier Republicans, McCain will raise the third most amount of money and have the third most on hand.

A very impressive total for Romney. At this point, where dollars represent achievment because there are no votes to count, Romney's campaign has been the most effective on the GOP side.

We'll see if he can continue his momentum in Q2 when he has to reach a little higher up the tree.