McCain raised $27 million in July-campaign aide

By Richard Cowan

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. presidential candidate John McCain's campaign fundraising continues to grow, with July's contributions hitting $27 million as his race against Democratic rival Barack Obama enters a crucial period, a top aide said on Friday.

The new monthly fundraising total for McCain, a Republican senator from Arizona, compares to the $22 million he raised in June, when Obama collected more than $30 million.

"We continue to have record months of fundraising. This is now the fifth month in a row that we have exceeded the month before," said McCain campaign manager Rick Davis.

He said the McCain campaign had $21.4 million dollars in cash at the end of July, "which gives us plenty enough money, in addition to our ongoing fundraising, to prosecute a very active campaign in the month of August."

July fundraising details for Obama, who so far has outpaced McCain in that area, are expected soon.

As the campaigns start their final weeks before the November election, each party will hold its presidential nominating conventions to anoint McCain and Obama, the candidates will name their running mates, will hold face-to-face debates, and will campaign nationwide at breakneck speed.

In September, McCain will get a large infusion of cash -- $84 million from a government presidential election fund and about $20 million from the Republican Party, Davis said.

Obama is bypassing public financing, with its limits on spending, because of his record-breaking ability to raise money privately.

However, the Republican National Committee is far outpacing its Democratic counterpart in raising cash that can be used for their respective candidates for president and Congress in the November 4 elections.

While Davis claimed McCain has successfully consolidated support among Republican core voters, which draws heavily from social conservatives, he acknowledged the party was deflated after the 2006 elections in which Republicans lost control of the Congress.

"We've constantly got to pay attention to the need to excite our base," he said.

Davis also said there will be a "pretty good uptick" in McCain's ability to draw contributions over the Internet, a medium that Obama has been particularly adept at exploiting.

Despite a sour U.S. economy, anger over the Iraq war and high gasoline prices -- all issues that ought to hurt President George W. Bush's Republicans -- polls so far indicate a close race between McCain and Obama.

(Editing by Vicki Allen)

(For more about the U.S. political campaign, visit Reuters "Tales from the Trail: 2008" online at blogs.reuters.com/trail08/)