As Senator Barack Obama edges closer to the Democratic presidential nomination, his campaign is gearing up to recruit many of Senator Hillary Clinton’s top fund-raisers, a move that could provide him with a huge infusion of cash if the two camps can get past the rancor of the primary season.
Several of Mr. Obama’s finance officials say that if Mrs. Clinton drops out of the race, they will invite her top fund-raisers to join his national finance committee at a meeting in Chicago on June 19. They estimate that the well-connected Clinton team could raise $50 million to $75 million for Mr. Obama and even more for the Democratic Party, adding to the already record-shattering amounts he is receiving from small donors over the Internet.
.....
Mr. Obama has already raised three times as much money as Mr. McCain. And the combination of his Internet appeals and the Clinton donors could lift Mr. Obama’s fund-raising total to an eye-popping $400 million to $500 million, practically ensuring that the Democrats would outspend the Republicans in the Nov. 4 election and be in position to mount the party’s largest advertising and get-out-the-vote drives ever.
Still, there are sharp differences in how the Obama and the Clinton fund-raising teams have operated, and people on both sides say it could be harder than in past Democratic campaigns for them to pull together. And some campaign-finance experts caution that an influx of high-rolling donors from the Clinton camp could carry some political risks for Mr. Obama, particularly if some of the contributions seemed at odds with his promise to reduce the role of special interests in politics.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/04/us/politics/04donate.html?_r=1&hp&oref=sloginCouple this with the rash of switches coming out, and the pulling together is just beginning.
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
