Romney shows heavy spending in second quarter

Mitt Romney spent almost all of the money he raised in the second quarter of 2007, investing heavily to increase his name recognition through TV and radio ads and build his grass-roots operations in early primary states.

Romney's aggressive spending, detailed in a second-quarter finance report his campaign filed with the Federal Election Commission today, made for an unusually high "burn rate" -- the amount candidates spend compared with how much they raise.

Romney brought in about $21 million in April, May, and June, including $14 million from individuals and political committees and $6.5 million in loans he made from his personal funds. He spent roughly $20.7 million over the same period, ending the quarter with $12.1 million in the bank -- which is only slightly more than he ended the first quarter with.

"We have invested resources in such a way that they are yielding a valuable return," Romney spokesman Kevin Madden said in an e-mail. "Every dollar we have spent has been invested wisely ... An important part of our success and momentum so far has been an effective plan to invest our resources in these early states."

Republican front-runner Rudy Giuliani, the former New York mayor, also filed his second-quarter FEC report, reporting $18.3 million in the bank after raising $17.6 million in the second quarter and spending $11.2 million. (Giuliani, unlike Romney, is also raising funds for the general election; Giuliani's campaign has said it raised $15 million in primary money last quarter.)

The other leading GOP contender, Arizona Senator John McCain, has not yet filed his report, but his campaign has already said it raised $11.2 million in the second quarter, a lower-than-expected tally that helped induce a shake-up of his top campaign staff. McCain has just $2 million in the bank heading into the summer.

But Romney would only have about $3 million left if he were not in the financial position to write himself seven-figure checks. So far, he's loaned himself $8.9 million and indicated he would continue to tap his personal fortune.