WASHINGTON -- Reports filed with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) on Wednesday show a closer fundraising race in the month of May between Mitt Romney and President Barack Obama than previously reported.

Less than two weeks ago, a release from the campaign of presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney showed Romney and the Republican National Committee (RNC) had raised a combined $76.8 million to beat the $60 million reportedly raised by Obama and the Democratic National Committee (DNC) in May.

The Romney campaign reported Wednesday that it raised $23.4 million in May and the RNC reported raising an eye-popping $34.2 million. The Obama campaign reported raising $39.1 million in May and the DNC reported taking in $19.9 million. That leaves Obama and the DNC with a total of $59.1 million raised, and Romney and the RNC with $57.6 million -- $19.2 million less than reported earlier in June.

A missing piece to the Romney equation helps to explain the disparity. As The Huffington Post reported in May, the Romney campaign is raising money through a joint fundraising committee called Romney Victory that won't disclose its full donations and transfers until July 15.

The committee can collect contributions as high as $75,000 from a single person, but individuals can only give a maximum of $30,800 to the RNC and $5,000 to Romney's campaign. The rest of that $75,000 gets distributed to a collection of party committees focused on congressional elections and state party committees, none of which are directly focused on the presidential election. These contributions, which have little to no bearing on the presidential race, are being counted as contributions raised by Romney and the RNC.