What's behind Obama's fundraising surge? 3 theories

The president's re-election team had a banner month in August — posting $114 million in donations and narrowly beating out the Romney camp

President Obama visits his campaign field office while campaigning in Florida
(Image credit: REUTERS/Larry Downing)

For the first time since April, the Obama campaign narrowly eked out a fundraising victory over Team Romney. "The difference wasn't much," says Daniel Politi at Slate — Obama and his team pulled in $114 million for the month of August while his GOP rival collected $111 million — "but certainly enough to claim victory." The Dems have a lot to smile about: The bump marks a huge increase over the $75 million they raised in July, and is the first time they've passed the $100 million barrier all campaign season. What happened? Here, three theories:

1. First time donors are stepping up

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