WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama’s campaign is
touting a fundraising milestone Monday, having surpassed 1 million
donors for the re-election effort.
The
Chicago-based campaign started collecting donations in April. Obama for
America and the Democratic National Committee just reported raising a
combined $70 million from more than 600,000 people in the third quarter,
after amassing $86 million in the second.
The
campaign has said that 98 percent of its donations in the last quarter
came in amounts of $250 or less. It used a range of tactics to help
amass those small gifts, most notably offering contributors a chance to
have dinner with the president.
It also has
disclosed a list of 351 bundlers — major fundraisers who collect
donations from others — up more than 100 from the previous quarter.
Among those on the top tier, bundlers who raised $500,000 or more, are
film producer Harvey Weinstein and Steve Spinner, a former Department of
Energy official who monitored a loan guarantee program that backed the
now-bankrupt solar manufacturer Solyndra.
The
fundraising milestone coincides with another — 1,000 days after the
start of the Obama administration. The campaign is selling the
achievement as a demonstration of grass-roots support for the
president’s re-election.
“No matter what our
opponents do, and however many people end up becoming a part of this
campaign, this first million will always be the group that put this
movement in the best position possible for the fights ahead,” Obama
wrote in an email to supporters.
It’s also trying to add to its tally, saying that a donor has promised to match any new contributions.
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