In a stunning admission, President Obama — who analysts had originally thought would be history’s first $1 billion presidential candidate — told donors on Tuesday he will be outspent by Republicans in this year’s election.

The president made the claim in an email trying to rally his own supporters to pony up more.

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“I will be the first president in modern history to be outspent in his re-election campaign, if things continue as they have so far,” Mr. Obama said in his plea. “I’m not just talking about the super PACs and anonymous outside groups — I’m talking about the Romney campaign itself.”

The president said he and Mitt Romney, Republicans’ presumptive candidate, are on different playing fields — Mr. Obama said he raised most of his money from small-dollar contributors, while Mr. Romney has relied on bigger donors.