diff --git a/tools/patman/commit.py b/tools/patman/commit.py
index 7144e5414a45536dac1eef8b008195050a34ca56..cbfbc46687d49eccb032bf835b043cb33e717953 100644
--- a/tools/patman/commit.py
+++ b/tools/patman/commit.py
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@
 import re
 
 # Separates a tag: at the beginning of the subject from the rest of it
-re_subject_tag = re.compile('([^:]*):\s*(.*)')
+re_subject_tag = re.compile('([^:\s]*):\s*(.*)')
 
 class Commit:
     """Holds information about a single commit/patch in the series.