(CNN) - The chairman of the Republican National Committee on Friday predicted the tables would soon turn in the presidential election, saying Americans can expect to see a lot more of Mitt Romney due to fund-raising hauls by the GOP.
"We now are in a position to oustpend (President Barack Obama's re-election effort) on television and tell our story and tell the Mitt Romney story, starting with our convention and going through the fall," Reince Priebus said on CNN's "Starting Point."
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Recent polls have shown Romney's popularity is slipping, including a new CNN/ORC International survey released Thursday that indicates 48% of Americans have an unfavorable view of the presumptive GOP nominee, up from 42% in June.
Defending Romney, Priebus blamed the numbers on negative ads by the Obama campaign, saying the former Massachusetts governor has been the subject of attacks by the other side for a year.
"What you're seeing is the effect of tens of millions of dollars that are on TV," he said.
As of June 30, Obama's campaign had spent $153.6 million this cycle, compared to Romney's team at $106.5 million, according to Federal Election Commission reports.
But Romney's campaign, along with the Republican National Committee, raised $101.3 million in July, marking the third month in a row in which the Obama campaign and Democratic National Committee together were outraised by Republicans.
Once Romney becomes the official nominee at the GOP convention in late August, he'll be able to tap into more funds to spend in the final months of the race for the White House.
"I think you're going to see us being able to outspend our opponent at the end, whereas Barack Obama outspent us tremendously over the past year," Priebus said.
In fund-raising emails, the Obama campaign repeatedly says Obama will be the first incumbent president to be outspent by the opponent.
– CNN's Ashley Killough contributed to this report.
From CNN Politics
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Mitt Romney will always be "THE WORST REPUBLICAN IN THE COUNTRY" for President
I Don't Trust him, I Don't Like him, An
I WILL NOT VOTE FOR HIM
So Priebus thinks Romney needs to outspend the President and tell “his story”? What story would that be? Because, when it comes to what will serve the 99% he has no story to tell!
Or does he want to talk about “his tax returns”, his “business experience”, destroyed “records”, spending “tax money” to save the Olympics, the performing of the GOP in the House and Senate, his fantastic trip abroad where everyone cannot wait to “deal” with him, the way he will “make” others go “his” way, etc. etc. – or will it be needed to set his flip-flops in the debates strait – like, I did not mean that, I was misquoted there, I did not think of that… Boy, will he need lots of money for that!
It is doubtful that the “outspending” will save him. He is so under qualified in every area; spending more will not do the trick. What do they say – you can buy school but you can’t buy class (or intelligence, honesty, empathy, character, smarts, politeness, diligence…)!!!
Hey Reince the Prince: How 'bout the convention and those Ron Paul delegates? Willard-mitt would lose worse than McCain IF nominated
So you spend more? So what. What message? Obama is bad, vote for Romney? That is a weak message. With all this money why isn't Romney running ads saying what a great job he did as Governor of Massachusetts?
And your point? MitWit is bought and sold, what more do we need to know Priebus the clown?
BOUGHT AND SOLD – Romney and the entire GOP
I don't care about free contraceptives. No one is trying to outlaw them – and they're quite inexpensive.
I don't care about Mitt Romney's taxes. He pays more in one year than 70% of this country pays in a lifetime.
I don't care about a childish prank Mitt Romney played when he was 17, That was almost 50 years ago.
I DO CARE about putting food on the table, gas in the car, and clothes on our backs. If you haven't noticed, that's getting more and more difficult each day. And Obama has done NOTHING to address the problem. NOTHING.
Romney 2012 – Change For The Better
The only question that I have is this; Once the Romney camp purchase the office of the Presidency, who will he be beholden to, his benefactors or the people?
I thought the GOP was against just throwing money at problems... huh...
Thanks to the SCOTUS decision on Citizens United oil, gas, and pharmaceutical companies to use obscene amounts of money to buy influence on behave of the Republican Party. There is no way that Democrats can compete financially with these special interest groups. Workers have very little power or influence anymore since unions have been almost eliminated. For the past 35 years, middle class salaries have declined at exactly the same rate that unions have been eliminated. The disparity between rich and poor continues to grow and the U.S. is gradually becoming a 3rd world country. But Republicans want you to keep focusing on gays and abortion – pay no attention to your loss of power and earnings in the workplace.
The country now knows who and what Romney is. They cannot change the narrative in the next three months. He has already been defined and the vast majority of voters have settled on a choice leaving a small percentage of undecide voters. There's not enough lipstick in the world to change the appearance of this pig.
(Crossing my arms and tapping my feet) Yes Pelvis, those numbers in the real world are closer then you would like to say and not to mention your Super PAC surrogates, how much money have they spent? You know the C.r.o.u.c.h. Brothers and Karl Rove-over and if it don't fit don't force it machine. You Pelvis are a funny little man.
It won't matter!!!
I don't believe any amount of money can put that out-of-touch, flip-flopping, serial liar, who cares only about the few, into the White House. It doesn't matter how much money you use to advertise a severly defective product. Might as well put the money in a big pile and burn it.
It is possible that Mitt the Twitt will see voter backlash to his prodigous fundraising since the Citizens United ruling. People don't want monied interest having an outsized effect on the election and Rmoney represents this. The power of the vote will overcome the power of money.
Reince, do you think all that money will let romney buy the election? Is that your point? Not so. The more the American people get to know romney the more they dont like him.
WAIT! You mean to tell me the candidate bankrolled by big money billionaires is going to spend more money than his opponent ?!?!?!
We know Kock Brothers will spend their billions on negative and false ads dude. No surprise.
Here we go.. the Grand Obstructionist Party is trying to buy the election with Super PAC spending. Luckily, most Americans see thru the charade and will do the right thing and re-elect the POTUS in Nov, so we can continue to clean up the mess the Repubs left this country with!
Buying the votes you can't block or steal?
Just more lies from the right.
Sorry buddy, Romney can't buy my vote with an ad. I, like most Americans, take what both sides say and check the facts myself. If you are telling the truth (that I can verify by an independent source) I will consider the facts you are presenting. If you are not telling the truth, or the whole truth, I will just dismiss you and will definitely hold it against you. Americans are tired of being lied to and having the facts twisted by creative editing.
That's no surprise. Romney has contributors wih deep pockets who want to get a return on their investment. If it means buying the election for him, so be it. But if he wins, he'd better be prepared to pay them back.
Of course he will; did we ever doubt that given that corporations are now "human" and they also don't need to disclose who lurks behind those hefty donations. The GOP is perfectly happy selling the office of POTUS to the highest bidder, esp. if they align to their twisted and dated ideology which included policies that have miserably failed in the past, yet through some sort of magical thinking, these voters feel that would change under Romney? Dream on...Romney is too chicken to even share his tax records and you would trust this man to lead this country? Sad.
Excellent article! It will keep the focus off the economy and that's what we need to get Obama reelected.
Obama 2012
It's not about the ads it's about your candidate?
Oh my goodness... as if we didn't have seen enough of him already! This waste of money in ads is just immoral!