First, the good news for the Obama campaign — they improved on a relatively poor showing in April’s fundraising numbers.  Earlier today, Team O and the DNC announced that they had jointly raised $60 million in May, up from the previous month’s $43.6 million:

President Barack Obama and the Democratic Party have raised a combined $60 million in May for his re-election effort.

The totals helped the president exceed his fundraising haul in April, when his campaign and his party raised $43.6 million. That was slightly more than his presumed challenger in the November election, Mitt Romney, and the Republican Party, which raised about $40 million during the month.

So far, though, there isn’t any indication of their cash on hand.  Obama has gone on a fundraising tear, which racks up the costs and burns through the donations.  The cost of raising all that cash, advertising, and organizing will be seen in the burn rate.

And now the bad news for Team O.  According to a news release from the Mitt Romney campaign, the Romney/RNC partnership outraised Obama by nearly $17 million in its first full month of operation:

Today, Romney for President, Romney Victory, and the Republican National Committee announced fundraising totals of over $76.8 million in May. The campaign and RNC have $107 million cash on hand.

Announcing the numbers, Romney Victory National Finance Chairman Spencer Zwick said, “We are encouraged by the financial support from a broad range of voters. To them, whether they are Republican, Democrat, Independent, a first time political donor, or a former Obama donor, this is not just a campaign; it’s an opportunity for the country. It is clear that people aren’t willing to buy into ‘hope & change’ again. Voters are making an investment because they believe that it will benefit the country.”

“Our strong fundraising is a sign that Americans are tired of President Obama’s broken promises and want a change of direction in the White House,” said Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus. “We will continue the hard work of raising the resources to defeat President Obama so that we can elect Mitt Romney and Republicans up and down the ballot to get our country on the right track again.”

FAST FACTS About Romney For President, Romney Victory, and RNC Fundraising:

• Over $76.8 Million Raised In May
• 93% Of All Donations Received In May Were $250 Or Less
• $12 Million Raised By Donations Under $250 In May
• 297,442 Donations Received Under $250 In May
• $107 Million Cash On Hand
• Contributions Received From All 50 States And Washington, D.C.

They already have $107 million cash on hand?  That’s pretty impressive from a combined $116.8 million in fundraising since Romney shed his primary competition for good.  That seems to indicate a very efficient fundraising operation, one that will present a big challenge to Team Obama.  At the very least, it’s clear that Romney will compete directly with Obama on campaign funding, even apart from the super-PACs that will be engaging in this election.