President Barack Obama and his allies raised nearly $85 million in August, outpacing Romney's haul in the month which saw both parties' national conventions, campaign finance paperwork filed Thursday with the Federal Election Commission showed.

Obama's campaign spent heavily in the month, too, with their haul of $84.8 million just surpassing their $83.7 million in August spending.

His campaign ended the month with $87.7 million cash on hand, passing Romney's $50 million cash on hand at the end of August.

In July, Obama raised $75 million.

Obama's campaign allies at the Obama Victory Fund supplemented his campaign's haul with an additional $39.6 million. Obama is allowed to fund-raise and spend in conjunction with the Victory Fund, while coordinating with some other groups, such as super PACs, is prohibited.

Both candidates ended the month with debt on their balance sheets.

The Obama campaign owed money to vendors, the largest of that amount - $1.6 million - being due to an advertizing agency whose website says it was founded by members of Obama's 2008 digital team.

Romney's debt was in the form of a loan taken to tide over his campaign before general election funds became available in after the party's conventions.