Obama Campaign Raises Record Amount in SeptemberPresident Barack Obama and the Democrats broke the election cycle’s fundraising record by collecting $181 million in September. It came from funds raised by the campaign as well as large checks given to the Democratic National Committee.

The amount was still lower than the $191 million that President Obama and the Democrats raised in September of 2008. But the announcement was good news to the president’s supporters after his lackluster performance during last Wednesday’s debate.

The Obama campaign started sending out emails to supporters Saturday with regards to the funds. The email included testimonials from donors. Jim Messina, Obama’s campaign manager, described the amount as big news.

Mitt Romney hasn’t announced his fundraising totals for September. According to a Romney spokeswoman, Republicans gave more after the debate last Wednesday. The campaign raised $12 million in less than 48 hours, which was more than after Romney announced that Representative Paul Ryan is his running mate. She added that sixty percent of the money came from first time donors.

September is usually a strong month for presidential campaign fundraising. Voters start to focus on the presidential race and supporters of candidates begin to gear up for the election. President Obama’s September fundraising total included money collected during the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte. North Carolina. Among the speakers at the convention were the president, his wife Michelle, and former President Bill Clinton.

The Obama campaign said that it got donations from around 4 million people since the president announced his reelection bid last year. Contributions in September were from 1,825,813 donors. 567,000 people were first time contributors.

September has been a strong fundraising month for President Obama just when the campaign was preparing for a barrage of late advertising from super PACs supporting Romney. In August, the Obama campaign got $114 million, which was more than the $111.6 million collected by Romney.