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Obama taps overseas donor pool
Politico
Anna Palmer and Darren Saumelsohn
6/23/2012
Excerpt:
"The all-consuming hunt for donors has led President Barack Obama’s campaign to England. And France. And China.
Obama is tapping the network of American citizens living outside the 50 states more than any other presidential campaign has before, with more than a dozen bundlers who have pledged to raise as much as $4.5 million.
The president’s overseas power centers include London, where high powered execs like Warner Bros. Josh Berger and Anthony Gardner of Palamon Capital Partners have promised to deliver as much as $500,000 each to the campaign, and Shanghai, where businessman and Technology for Obama co-chair Robert Roche has committed to bringing in more than $500,000.
It’s all legal - the donors are American citizens who pay U.S. taxes - and the net income to the campaigns is paltry compared to the hundreds of millions of dollars raised stateside. But while presidential campaigns have long taken in campaign donations from expats and people living in U.S. territories, Obama’s campaign is focusing on it more than ever before.
In 2008, Obama reported having seven bundlers outside the 50 states committed to raising as much as $2.3 million, with the dough rolling in at events like a George Clooney-headlined fundraiser in Geneva. Meanwhile, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) took in $610,000. And in 2004, presidential campaigns took in just under $910,000 total from Americans living abroad.
“You’ve got to do it because it’s money you need, but it’s the same as a fundraiser in a small town in America,” said Jack Oliver, who helped create President George W. Bush’s fundraising strategy in 2000 and 2004, of holding fundraisers abroad. “It’s not a game changer in resources, but it is money you don’t want [to] leave on the table.”
As of early June Obama had already received more than $455,000 in political contributions outside the 50 states this cycle, according to the Federal Election Commission records, and a campaign official told POLITICO that there could be even more U.S. bundlers from abroad before the November election.
Mitt Romney, meanwhile, had received just under $144,000 in campaign contributions outside the 50 states, according to FEC records. Several supporters said he’s expected to attend a fundraiser in London when he travels there for the Olympics this summer.
The Romney campaign doesn’t publicly list its bundlers and did not respond to questions regarding his fundraising efforts abroad.
Last July, the former Massachusetts governor attended a $2,500-per-person fundraiser in London hosted by high-powered politicos like hedge fund manager Louis Bacon and New York Jets owner Woody Johnson. Dwight Poler, an executive with Bain Capital, the firm Romney previously worked for, and Raj Bhattacharyya, managing director at Deutsche Bank, also co-hosted the event.
Obama hasn’t attended the foreign fundraisers personally, but campaign and senior White House officials will continue to build up their frequent flier miles before Election Day."
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View the complete article at:
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0612/77744.html
Politico
Anna Palmer and Darren Saumelsohn
6/23/2012
Excerpt:
"The all-consuming hunt for donors has led President Barack Obama’s campaign to England. And France. And China.
Obama is tapping the network of American citizens living outside the 50 states more than any other presidential campaign has before, with more than a dozen bundlers who have pledged to raise as much as $4.5 million.
The president’s overseas power centers include London, where high powered execs like Warner Bros. Josh Berger and Anthony Gardner of Palamon Capital Partners have promised to deliver as much as $500,000 each to the campaign, and Shanghai, where businessman and Technology for Obama co-chair Robert Roche has committed to bringing in more than $500,000.
It’s all legal - the donors are American citizens who pay U.S. taxes - and the net income to the campaigns is paltry compared to the hundreds of millions of dollars raised stateside. But while presidential campaigns have long taken in campaign donations from expats and people living in U.S. territories, Obama’s campaign is focusing on it more than ever before.
In 2008, Obama reported having seven bundlers outside the 50 states committed to raising as much as $2.3 million, with the dough rolling in at events like a George Clooney-headlined fundraiser in Geneva. Meanwhile, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) took in $610,000. And in 2004, presidential campaigns took in just under $910,000 total from Americans living abroad.
“You’ve got to do it because it’s money you need, but it’s the same as a fundraiser in a small town in America,” said Jack Oliver, who helped create President George W. Bush’s fundraising strategy in 2000 and 2004, of holding fundraisers abroad. “It’s not a game changer in resources, but it is money you don’t want [to] leave on the table.”
As of early June Obama had already received more than $455,000 in political contributions outside the 50 states this cycle, according to the Federal Election Commission records, and a campaign official told POLITICO that there could be even more U.S. bundlers from abroad before the November election.
Mitt Romney, meanwhile, had received just under $144,000 in campaign contributions outside the 50 states, according to FEC records. Several supporters said he’s expected to attend a fundraiser in London when he travels there for the Olympics this summer.
The Romney campaign doesn’t publicly list its bundlers and did not respond to questions regarding his fundraising efforts abroad.
Last July, the former Massachusetts governor attended a $2,500-per-person fundraiser in London hosted by high-powered politicos like hedge fund manager Louis Bacon and New York Jets owner Woody Johnson. Dwight Poler, an executive with Bain Capital, the firm Romney previously worked for, and Raj Bhattacharyya, managing director at Deutsche Bank, also co-hosted the event.
Obama hasn’t attended the foreign fundraisers personally, but campaign and senior White House officials will continue to build up their frequent flier miles before Election Day."
........................................
View the complete article at:
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0612/77744.html