Obama Network of Big Donors Rivals Bush's

Bundlers chip in large portion of Obama's record haul
By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 6, 2008 11:55 AM CDT
Obama Network of Big Donors Rivals Bush's
Barack Obama gets off the plane at South Bend Regional Airport in South Bend, Ind., Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2008.   (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Barack Obama likes to point to the avalanche of small-money donations that account for a full half of his record $340 million haul. But he has also been carefully cultivating a network of big-money bundlers since his earliest days in the Senate, the New York Times reports. As a result, Obama’s fleet of boosters are on pace to rival even George W. Bush’s vaunted “rangers” and “pioneers.”

Obama has 500 bundlers that have collected at least $50,000 each; more than a half-dozen have passed the $1 million mark. Roughly two-thirds of the money can be traced to four industry groups: law, investment, real estate, and entertainment. “It's fairly clear that this is being packaged as an extraordinary new kind of fundraising,” said a campaign finance expert. “But it's also clear that many of the old donors are still there and important.” (More Barack Obama stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X