Loop21, News Report, Posted: Oct 08, 2012

 In the Citizens United super PAC (political action committee) era, this year's presidential campaign is shaping up to be one of the most expensive in U.S. history. Bundlers, or influential supporters who get donors to pool their money for presidential or congressional candidates, are key. And President Barack Obama can thank his bundlers for helping him out-raise Republican opponent Mitt Romney in August and to take in an even larger haul in September.

Fundraising figures showed Obama and the Democratic National Committee raked in nearly $181 million last month, outperforming the $141 million Obama raised in August when he out-raised Romney's $111 million August figure. The Romney campaign and the GOP has yet to release its fundraising totals for September.But at least one top Obama fundraiser predicted the Democratic camp would continue to be the cash winner in September, according to The Financial Times.

Federal Election Commission figures showed a sharp fall-off in contributions to the Romney campaign between July and August. Romney's modest decline of a few million from June to July was followed by a sharp drop of nearly $7 million from July to August, according to FEC filings. Obama, on the other hand, saw an impressive jump in donations of about $19 million from July to August.