Obama Taps Internet, Small Donors to Top Clinton's Fundraising
Washington, July 2 -- Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama is dominating presidential fundraising, raising the most money and bringing in far more contributors than rivals such as Hillary Clinton, who leads in national polls.
The Illinois senator yesterday reported contributions of at least $32.5 million in the second quarter, compared with about $27 million raised by New York Senator Clinton. Obama raised about $31 million for the primary elections compared with an estimated $21 million for Clinton.
Obama's focus on using the Internet and other venues to attract a greater pool of smaller donors who can keep giving puts him in position to keep beating Clinton in fund-raising battles. Clinton has a far higher percentage of supporters who have already given the maximum amount to her for the election.
``Money doesn't determine election outcomes, but at this stage it is a rough proxy for support from Democratic elites and true believers,'' said David Primo, a political science professor at the University of Rochester in New York. ``They appear to be putting their money with Obama, both in number of donations and in absolute dollars.''
Obama, 45, and Clinton are on track to outdistance their Republican rivals, who have yet to report their second-quarter fundraising totals. Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney's campaign said last week it wouldn't match its first-quarter total of $23.4 million.
McCain, Giuliani
The campaign of Arizona Senator John McCain said last week it was ``close to, but short of our overall fundraising goals'' after raising $13.1 million in the first quarter. Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani raised $16.6 million from January to March.
Democrats as a group are poised to once again overwhelm Republicans in fundraising. In the first three months of the year, the Democrats raised close to $79 million, compared with about $53 million for the Republicans.
Democrats should exceed that total this quarter, raising more than $80 million and keeping about the same advantage over the Republicans.
So far, Obama has received money from more than 258,000 donors, his campaign said. That tops the 100,000 reported by rival John Edwards, 54, a former North Carolina senator. Clinton, 59, had about 60,000 donors in the first quarter; she hasn't released her latest figure.
``Obama's fundraising edge over Clinton helps compensate for her consistent 10-15 percent lead in the polls,'' said Thomas Mann, a scholar at Washington's Brookings Institution. ``The two of them occupy the top tier.''
New Donors
Obama's campaign said he brought in about 154,000 new donors in the second quarter; Edwards reported about 60,000 new donors in the period as he raised $9 million, almost all of it for the primary campaign.
Most of Obama's base of supporters can keep on giving. In the first quarter, about 5 percent of Clinton's donors gave the maximum allowed and can no longer be tapped. For Obama, that figure was less than 1 percent.
Any individual may give a presidential candidate $2,300 for a primary campaign and another $2,300 for the general campaign. The general funds can only be used if the candidate wins his or her party's nomination; otherwise, the money must be returned. All the candidates must file their full first-quarter reports with the Federal Election Commission by July 15.
Second to Bush
Obama's take is the second-largest amount ever recorded for a presidential candidate between April and June of a non- election year and the most ever for a Democrat. President George W. Bush, a Republican, took in $35.1 million during the second quarter of 2003, all for the primaries. Bush raised $29.6 million for the primaries during the same period in 1999.
Clinton's husband, then-President Bill Clinton, raised $9.6 million for the primaries during the second quarter of 1995, the previous Democratic record.
Also in this year's second quarter, New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson took in about $7 million for the Democratic primaries, his campaign said on June 29. He raised $6.2 million during the first quarter and has received money from about 38,000 donors altogether, campaign spokesman Pahl Shipley said.
Connecticut Senator Christopher Dodd brought in about $3.25 million in the quarter, said spokeswoman Christy Setzer. The campaign didn't release a breakdown of primary dollars or the number of donors. Unlike other candidates, however, Dodd did disclose the cash he had on hand at the end of the second quarter. It was about $6.5 million, Setzer said.
Last Updated: Mon, 02 Jul 2007 15:32:00 |
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