Priebus: ‘Don’t know if we’re going to match’ Obama fundraising haul

Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus said Sunday that he was unsure if the GOP and Romney team could match the record September fundraising haul announced by the Obama campaign.

“I don’t know if we’re going to match it, but it is an impressive number,” said Priebus on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

On Saturday, the Obama campaign announced that their combined efforts with the Democratic National Convention had netted $181 million last month. The total sets a new monthly record for the 2012 campaign, topping the Obama August haul of $114 million. Obama topped Romney’s $111.6 million that month after the GOP challenger bested Obama in the money game for three straight months.

Asked if the campaign was “close” to the September figure, Priebus responded “I can’t tell you that right now. “

“I think we all understand that this race is not going to come down to money because we’ve been very competitive and if you roll the tape, I’ve been calling, been saying that President Obama is going to raise a billion dollars in a year-and-a-half. We call him the ‘Billion Dollar President,’” said the chairman.

“It’s no surprise to us. I think we’ve surprised them with how well we’ve done in fundraising,” he added.

Priebus said that the race would come down to more than just fundraising prowess.

“It’s not going to come down to money, it’s going to come down to heart, it’s going to come down to work on the ground, to plans and I think the fact this president didn’t fulfill his promises,” he added.

“We will have all the money we need to be competitive,” Priebus said.

The Romney campaign has yet to announce their September totals, but on Saturday, spokesperson Andrea Saul tweeted that the team had raised more than $12 million in the 48 hours after Wednesday night’s first presidential debate.

---