Obama Campaign Announces Record Fundraising Haul

President Barack Obama's campaign and the Democrats had a record fundraising haul of $181 million in September, the biggest month for any campaign this election cycle.

The Obama campaign broke the news on Twitter Saturday morning, announcing that more than 1.8 million people donated, including more than half a million who had not given at all in 2008 or 2012. According to the campaign, 98 percent of September's donations were $250 or less, with an average contribution of $53.

September's total far outstripped Obama's August haul of $114 million, which was higher than Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney's $111 million. August was the first time in four months the Democrats beat the Republicans in fundraising.

The September result was still shy of the combined $193 million Obama and the Democrats raised in September 2008.

The news is sure to buoy the president's re-election effort coming off a widely-panned debate performance against Romney on Wednesday. September included the Democratic National Convention and the release of a secretly recorded video of Romney talking about the "47 percent" of Americans who don't pay income taxes.

Romney's campaign has not yet released its September fundraising totals.