Republican presidential candidate John McCain raised more than $21 million in June and spent nearly $26 million, the campaign reported Friday night.
According to filings with the Federal Election Commission, McCain spent more than $16 million on advertising during the month. That was five times more than he spent in May, when the Democratic presidential primary was still being contested by Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton. Obama clinched the Democratic nomination on June 3.
McCain also increased his spending on payroll in June by 9 percent to nearly three-quarters of a million dollars a month.
Overall, McCain's spending, more than twice what he spent in May, exceeded his fundraising in June by more than $4 million.
June was the best fundraising month of the Arizona senator's campaign, slightly exceeding his May fundraising. The increase was due to a better performance by a joint fundraising committee that McCain set up with the Republican National Committee.
Obama has not yet filed his June report with the Federal Election Commission. It is due at midnight Sunday.
But Obama reported Thursday that he raised $52 million in June, more than twice what McCain raised.
McCain also reported debts of more than $1.4 million.
By spending more than he raised, McCain eroded his cash on hand. He had ended May with $31.6 million in the bank. He had nearly $27 million in hand at the end of June.
McCain has decided to accept public financing for the general election — an $84 million infusion that prevents him from raising private money for his fall campaign. That means he has to spend all the money he raises between now and the Republican national convention in early September. Obama has decided to bypass the public finance system and raise his own money for the fall.
At this stage of the campaigns, money raised by the national political parties is as important as that raised by the candidates.
The Republican National Committee raised $26 million in June. The Democratic National Committee raised $22 million.
Altogether, the RNC and McCain had $95 million in the bank at the end of the month. Obama and the DNC had $92 million.