President Barack Obama’s re-election campaign and the Democratic National Committee raised a combined $70 million in the past three months.

Obama’s campaign manager, Jim Messina, wrote in an email to supporters that the campaign exceeded its goal of $55 million for the third quarter ending Sept. 30 — although many political operatives viewed that number as artificially low.

“In the third fundraising quarter of this year, 606,027 people donated to this campaign — even more than gave in the record-breaking previous quarter,” Messina wrote. “Those people gave more than 766,000 total donations — 98 percent of them $250 or less, at an average amount of $56. That’s more than twice as many donations than we had at this point in the historic 2008 campaign.”

Messina also said the funds so far this year came from 982,967 donors, and asked for new donations to help reach the 1 million figure.

Democrats set a fundraising record in the second quarter by bringing in a combined $86 million for Obama and the DNC.

The campaign did not disclose the cash on hand figure.

The president will need the money for his re-election campaign now less than 13 months away. Obama’s approval rating hovers in the mid- to low- 40s, according to many national polls, which show voters continue to be concerned about his stewardship over the lagging economy.

Nonetheless, Obama and the DNC brought in more cash than any of the GOP contenders are expected to post in the third quarter.

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney is likely to report raising about $14 million during the quarter, according to news reports.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry raised $17 million for his campaign, which officially kicked off in mid-August. He had $15 million in cash on hand.

The Republican National Committee announced Wednesday the party raised $9.3 million in September, bringing the RNC fundraising total for the third quarter to almost $24 million. The RNC also reported about $14.5 million in debt.